About the beginnings

“On the Beginnings” is Origen’s most significant dogmatic work and represents the first experience of philosophical dogmatics. By “principles” we mean the basic truths of Christian doctrine. The time of writing refers to the end of Origen’s stay in Alexandria - 229–230. The full text of the treatise was preserved only in an inaccurate Latin translation of the 4th century, because Greek originals were destroyed because of the heresies they contained. The essay “On Elements” most of all brought upon Origen criticism and reproaches of unorthodoxy. It was solely on the basis of excerpts from this work that Origen was convicted of heresy in the decree of Justinian in 543 and at the Fifth Ecumenical Council. The work consists of an introduction and four books. In the introduction, Origen points out that the foundation and source of all truth are the words of Christ and the apostles. Since many Christians disagree on the most important truths of the faith, it is necessary to establish a certain boundary for everyone, which is the Rule of Faith. Origen sets out to present a system of Christian truth, revealing and justifying the simple provisions of the apostolic sermon and filling in the gaps in church teaching with the help of correct conclusions regarding positive teaching. The first book (8 chapters) talks about the spiritual world. Origen reveals the doctrine of God, His unity and spirituality, about God the Word and the Holy Spirit, about rational beings, about the world of spirits. The second book (11 chapters) sets out the doctrine of the visible world, its origin and preservation by God, about Revelation in the Old Testament, about the incarnation and essence of Christ, about the Holy Spirit and His activity, about the soul, resurrection, Judgment and promises. The third book (6 chapters) is devoted to revealing the doctrine of human free will and its relationship to grace, the struggle between good and evil and the ultimate triumph of good. The fourth book (3 chapters) talks about the inspiration of Holy Scripture and the methods of its interpretation. The presentation is carried out episodically; The connection between the chapters is not clearly outlined. The composition of the work is not entirely complete: there is no teaching about the Church (sacraments, hierarchy), about the Antichrist, the Second Coming and the Last Judgment. This is a formal flaw in the essay. But for its time, Origen's system provided a complete Christian worldview and could compete with any philosophical or Gnostic system. At many points it was skillfully contrasted with the errors of the Gnostics (about the creation of the world, about the full humanity of Christ, about free will - against emanatism, docetism, determinism). But Origen was also carried away by philosophical non-church opinions (the eternity of the world, the pre-existence of souls, apocatastasis, etc.). This is the material shortcoming of his work. *The title of the work in Greek is Περ ἀρχῶν. *The title of the work in Latin is De principiis. Translation from the Latin text of Rufinus *. Preface by Prester Rufinus to the books of Prester Origen I know that very many of the brothers, out of love for the study of Holy Scripture, went through certain men who knew Greek to translate Origen into Latin and make it accessible to the Latins. From among such men, our brother and comrade actually translated from Greek into Latin, at the request of Bishop Damasus, two discourses on the Song of Songs and wrote such an eloquent and magnificent preface to his work that he awakened in everyone a desire to read and eagerly study Origen. In this preface, he says that the words can be attributed to the soul of Origen: the king will lead me into his bed (Song. 1: 3) and claims that Origen, surpassing everyone in his books, surpassed himself in his interpretation of the Song of Songs. Here he promises to translate into Latin not only the interpretation of the Song of Songs, but also many other works of Origen. But, as I see it, with his fascinating style, he pursues a broader goal - he wants to be the father of the word, and not just a translator. And so we continue the work that was started and tested by him. Moreover, we cannot, like him, express the words of such a great man in an elegant form with the same outstanding eloquence. Therefore, I fear that, through my lack of skill, this man, whom he rightly presents as the second supreme teacher of knowledge and wisdom after the apostles, will not seem much inferior, due to the poverty of my words. I often thought about this, and therefore I remained silent and did not agree to the frequent requests for translation from the brothers. But your persistence, most faithful brother Macarius, is so great that even my inexperience cannot resist it. And so, so as not to hear any more of your insistent demands, I gave in, but completely against my wishes, and at the same time I made it a rule for myself: in translation, follow, as far as possible, the method of my predecessors, and mainly the method of the husband I mentioned above. He translated into Latin more than seventy works of Origen, which he called discourses, and several of those volumes that were written on the Apostles. In these translations, although there are some seductive passages in the Greek text, he corrected and smoothed everything out so much during the translation that the Latin reader will not find anything in them that would be inconsistent with our faith. We follow him, if possible; however, not in relation to the qualities of eloquence, but only in the rules of translation: it is we who observe so as not to translate what is in the books of Origen that disagrees and contradicts these same books. And why there is such a disagreement in them, we explained to you more fully in the Apology written by Pamphilus in defense of Origen - precisely in that short appendix, where, I think, we proved with obvious arguments that Origen’s books in very many places were spoiled by heretics and malicious people - especially the work that you now ask me to translate, that is, the work “Περὶ ἀρχῶν”, which means: About the principles, or About the principalities. In fact, this work is very dark and very difficult in places. In it, Origen discusses subjects about which philosophers could not make any research during their entire lives; and this philosopher of ours, as far as he could, did what he did to turn faith in the Creator and knowledge of creatures, turned by philosophers to wickedness, to piety. And so, when we found in his books something contrary to what he himself had piously defined about the Trinity in other places, we either skipped this passage as distorted and false, or presented it in accordance with the rule that he himself often affirms in his writings. And in the case when he addresses a speech as if to experienced and knowledgeable people and at the same time expresses his thoughts briefly, and therefore obscurely, for a greater understanding of such passages, we tried to interpret them, and added to them what we read on the same issue in a more clarified form in his other books. However, at the same time, we did not say anything of our own, but only added to his own words what he said in other places. I stated all this in the preface so that slanderers would not dream up again to find a reason for accusation. However, later it will be seen what wicked and quarrelsome people do. By the way, this great work - of course, under the condition that in our case, through your prayers, there will be God's help - we have undertaken not at all with the goal of stopping the mouths of slanderers - this is not even possible, although, perhaps, God will do this - but in order to give those who wish to improve their knowledge of things. - Anyone who will copy go read these books, before the face of God the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, I conjure and implore with faith in the coming kingdom, and also with the mystery of the resurrection from the dead, with the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels (let him not inherit forever that place where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth, and where their fire does not go out and their worm does not dies), - I conjure and beg: let him not add anything to this writing, let him not subtract anything, not introduce or change anything in it, but only let him check it with those copies from which he will copy, let him literally correct and compare it and have no code that is not corrected or not verified. Otherwise, the malfunction of the code, with difficulty in understanding it, will cause even greater ambiguities for readers. 1. All those who believe and are confident that grace and truth came through Jesus Christ, and know that Christ is the truth, in His own words: “I am the truth” (John 14:6) - draw knowledge that calls people to a good and blessed life, not from any other source, but from the very words and teachings of Christ. By the words of Christ we mean not only those that He proclaimed when He became man and took on flesh: after all, even before Christ, God’s Word, was in Moses and the prophets, and without the Word of God how could they prophesy about Christ? To confirm this position, it would not be difficult to prove on the basis of the Divine Scriptures that Moses and the prophets did everything that they said and did by inspiration from the Spirit of Christ - if only we were not constrained by the task of writing this essay with all possible brevity. Therefore, I think, in this case it is enough for us to use one testimony of St. Paul from the epistle he wrote to the Jews, in which he says this: “Moses, having become great by faith, was denied to be called the son of Pharaoh, rather than cause the people of God to suffer, rather than have the temporary sweetness of sin, by counting the greater wealth of the Egyptian treasures for the reproach of Christ” (Heb. 11:24–26). In the same way, after His ascension into heaven, Christ spoke to His apostles; this shows up. Paul as follows: “Before you are tempted, seek Christ speaking in me” (2 Cor. 13:3). 2. Since many of those who recognize themselves as believers in Christ disagree not only in the smallest and most insignificant, but also in the great and in the greatest, that is, in questions either about God, or about the Lord Jesus Christ, or about the Holy Spirit, and not only about these (beings), but also about other creatures, that is, either about dominions, or about holy powers, then for this reason, it seems necessary to first establish an exact boundary and a certain rule about each of these subjects, and then ask about other things. True, among the Greeks and barbarians many promised the truth; but after we believed that Christ is the Son of God, and were convinced that we must learn the truth from Him, we stopped looking for it from all of them, since they contain the truth along with false opinions. It is also true that there are many people who arrogate to themselves the knowledge of Christian truth, and some of them do not think in accordance with their predecessors; but we must preserve the church teaching handed down from the apostles through the order of succession, and remaining in the churches even to this day: only that truth should be believed that does not deviate in any way from church and apostolic tradition. 3. At the same time, it should also be known that the holy apostles, preaching the faith of Christ, about certain subjects, precisely what they recognized as necessary, very clearly communicated to everyone, even to those who seemed comparatively less active in the search for divine knowledge; Moreover, the basis of their teaching in this case they left to be found by those who could deserve the highest gifts of the Spirit, and especially by those who were honored to receive from the Holy Spirit himself the grace of word, wisdom and reason. About other subjects, the apostles only said that they exist, but kept silent about how or why, of course, for the purpose that they could have exercise and thus show the fruits of their minds to the most zealous and loving wisdom from among their successors, that is, those of them who would become worthy and capable of perceiving the truth. 4. The apostolic teaching, clearly conveyed, boils down to the following provisions. Firstly, that there is one God, Who created and created everything and Who brought everything from non-existence into being, God - from the first creation and creation of the world, the God of all the righteous: Adam, Abel, Seth, Enos, Enoch, Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the twelve patriarchs, Moses and the prophets; and that this God in the last days, according to what He had previously promised through His prophets, sent our Lord Jesus Christ to call first Israel, and then the Gentiles, after the betrayal of the people of Israel. This God, the righteous and good Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, gave the law, and the prophets, and the gospel; He is the God of the apostles, the God of the Old and New Testaments. Then (church tradition teaches) that Jesus Christ himself, who came, was born of the Father before all creation. He served the Father during the creation of everything, for “all Darkness came into being” (John 1:3), but recently, having humbled Himself, He became incarnate, becoming a man, although He was God, and, having become a man, remained what He was before, that is, God. He took on a body similar to our body, with the only difference that it was born of the Virgin and the Holy Spirit. This Jesus Christ was born and suffered truly, and was subjected to this common death not in a ghostly way, but truly; truly He rose from the dead, after His resurrection He spoke to His disciples and ascended. Further, the apostles betrayed that in relation to honor and dignity, the Holy Spirit participates in the Father and the Son. At the same time, it is impossible to clearly discern whether the Holy Spirit was born or not? Should He be considered the Son or not? And these questions need to be investigated to the best of our ability, on the basis of Holy Scripture, and resolved through careful research. However, it was this Spirit that inspired each of the saints, both apostles and prophets; one and the same, and not a different Spirit, was present both in the ancients and in those who were inspired at the coming of Christ. This is preached with complete clarity in the churches. 5. After this (church tradition teaches) that the soul, having its own substance and life, upon leaving this world, will receive reward according to its deserts: it will either receive the inheritance of eternal life and bliss, if its deeds help it, or it will be consigned to eternal fire and punishments, if its guilt in crimes plunges it into this. Church tradition also teaches that the time of the resurrection of the dead will come, when this body, now sown in corruption, will be raised in incorruption, and what was sown in humiliation will be raised in glory (Cor. 15:42-43). Church teaching also defines that every rational soul has freedom of decision and will and must withstand the struggle against the devil and his angels and opposing forces, because they try to burden it with sins, and we, if we live correctly and prudently, try to free ourselves from such a burden. Hence the understanding that we are not subject to the compulsory necessity of doing good or evil against our will. Of course, even if we have freedom, some forces may have the ability to induce us to sin, while others help us to salvation; but still we are not necessarily forced to do good or bad, as those who consider the course and movement of the stars to be the cause of human affairs - not only those that are committed without free will, but also those that are in our power - think. But church tradition does not clearly indicate regarding the soul whether it comes from a seed, so that its essence (ratio) or substance is contained in the bodily seeds itself, or whether it has some other beginning, and this very beginning is born or unborn, or, perhaps, does the soul enter the body from the outside? 6. Church tradition teaches about the devil and his angels and about opposing forces that they, in any case, exist; but what they are or how they exist - this tradition does not set out clearly enough. However, many are of the opinion that this devil was formerly an angel and, having become an apostate, convinced many other angels to defect with him, who are still called his angels. 7. In addition, church tradition also contains that this world was created and began to exist from a certain time, and, due to its corruption, must be saved. But what happened before this world or what will happen after it remains unknown to many, because church teaching does not speak about this clearly. 8. Then, church tradition teaches that the Scriptures were written by St. Spirit (per Spiritum) and have not only an open meaning, but also some other one, hidden from the majority, for what is described here serves as a foreshadowing of certain sacraments and an image of divine things. The whole Church teaches alike that all law is spiritual; but the spiritual meaning of the law is not known to everyone, but only to those who are given the grace of the Holy Spirit in the word of wisdom and knowledge. The name aswmátou, that is, incorporeal, is not known and is not used not only by many other (writers), but also in our Scriptures. If someone points us in this case to a book called “The Teachings of Peter,” where the Savior seems to say to the disciples: “I am not an incorporeal demon,” then, firstly, we must answer him that this book does not belong to the number of church books, and then show that this writing does not belong either to Peter or to any other divinely inspired writer. But even if we leave this aside, the word aswmátou in the “Teaching of Peter” still does not have the meaning that the Greeks and pagans connect with it in their philosophical reasoning about incorporeal nature. In this book, the demon is called incorporeal in the sense that the property and type of the demonic body, whatever this property may be, is not similar to this gross and visible body - and, of course, this name should be understood in accordance with the thought of the one who compiled this work, namely, that He (the Savior) does not have the same body as demons have, that is, not one that is by nature thin and light, like air, and therefore is considered or called by many incorporeal - but has a dense and tangible body. Indeed, simple and inexperienced people usually call all this incorporeal; So someone can call, for example, this air that we use incorporeal, because it is not a body that can be grasped and held, and does not have elasticity. 9 . However, we will look to see if in Holy Scripture, under a different name, there is the same concept that the Greek philosophers denote by the word aswmátou. We must also consider how God should be thought of, whether corporeal and having some form, or with a different nature, compared to the body, because this is not clearly indicated in our teaching. The same should be explored about Christ and the Holy Spirit, and also about every soul, and even more so about every rational being. 10. Church teaching also contains that there are some angels of God and good forces who serve God in arranging the salvation of people; but when they are created, or what they are, or how they exist, this is not indicated with sufficient clarity. As for the sun, moon and stars, it is not clear whether they are animate or without a soul. So, whoever wants to build one organic whole (seriem quamdam et corpus) on the basis of all this, according to the commandment “illuminate for yourself the light of knowledge” (Hosea 10:12), must use these as elements and foundations in order, on the basis of clear and necessary provisions about each object, to investigate what it really is and, as we said, to form a single organism (unum corpus) from examples and provisions, and which he either finds in Holy Scripture or receives through correct inference. 1. I know that some will try to prove that God is a body, and even on the basis of our Scriptures. In fact, they find in Moses the words: “Our God is a consuming fire,” and also in the Gospel of John: “The Spirit is God, and whoever worships Him is worthy to worship in spirit and in truth” (Deut. 4:24, John 4:24); fire and spirit, according to their understanding, are nothing more than body. But I want to ask them, what will they say about the words of Scripture that say that God is light, as John says in his epistle: “God is light and in Him is not one darkness?” (1 John 1:5) Of course, He is that light that enlightens every sense of people who are able to perceive the truth, as Psalm 35 says: “In Your light we will see light” (Psalm 35:10). But what else should be understood by the light of God, in which someone sees light, if not the power of God, through enlightenment from which a person comes to know both the truth of all things and God Himself, Who is the truth? This is the meaning of the words: “in Your light we will see light”; namely: in Your Word and Wisdom, which is Your Son, we will see the Father in You. Can God really be considered similar to the light of this sun simply because He is called light? And what, even superficial, meaning will be obtained if it is recognized that from this bodily light someone receives the cause of knowledge and finds the understanding of truth? 2. So, if we recognize this statement of ours as fair, which is proven by the very concept of the nature of light, and agree that with such an understanding of light it is impossible to consider God a body, then similar reasoning can be applied to the name of God as consuming fire. Indeed, what will God consume like fire? Will anyone really think that He devours bodily matter, for example, wood, hay, straw? And what is worthy of divine glory in the thought that God is a fire that consumes things of this kind? True, we recognize that God, indeed, devours and destroys, but destroys the evil thoughts of minds, destroys shameful deeds, destroys sinful desires in the case when He dwells in the minds of believers and when the souls that become receptive to His Word and wisdom, after destroying all vices and passions in them, makes His church pure and worthy of Himself, dwelling in them together with His Son, as it is said (in Scripture): “I and the Father will come and make our abode with him” (John 14:23). Those who consider God a body on the basis of the words: “Spirit is God” (John 4:24), in my opinion, should be answered this way. In Holy Scripture, the word “spirit” is usually used when it is necessary to designate something opposite to the real rough and dense body. So, for example, the Scripture says “the letter kills, but the spirit gives life” (2 Cor 3:6). Here, without a doubt, with the expression “writing” Scripture means the bodily, and with the word “spirit” - the mental, which is what we otherwise call spiritual. After all, the Apostle says: “even to this day, whenever Moses is revered, a veil is laid over their hearts, but whenever they turn to the Lord, the veil is taken away. (The Lord is the spirit) and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Cor 3:15-17) Indeed, until someone turns to spiritual understanding, a veil lies on his heart, with which veil, that is, rough understanding, Scripture itself is closed. The same veil lay on the face of Moses when he spoke to the people (Ex. 34:35), or what is the same - when the law was read to the people. If we turn to the Lord, Who has the word of God and from whom the Holy Spirit reveals spiritual knowledge, then the veil will be removed, then with an open face we will contemplate the glory of God in the Scriptures. 3. True, many saints participate in the Holy Spirit, but on this basis one should not consider the Holy Spirit to be some kind of body in which, after dividing it into bodily parts, each of the saints seems to participate. The Holy Spirit is, of course, a sanctifying power, in which, as they say, all who deserve sanctification by His grace have a part. However, to make it easier to understand what we are saying, let’s take an example, at least from the realm of things of a completely different order. So many people take part in medical science or medical art. Is it really necessary to think that everyone involved in medicine, located in the middle of some body called medicine, disassembles its parts for themselves and, thus, takes part in it? Is it not better to understand this participation in the sense that everyone, by preparing and educating his mind, comprehends the very meaning of this art and science? However, this example of medicine should not be considered a perfect similarity and exact comparison in relation to the Holy Spirit; this example only proves that what many participate in should not necessarily be considered a body. The Holy Spirit is immeasurably different from medicine both in essence and in doctrine: in addition to the fact that the Holy Spirit is a spiritual (intellectualis) essence (subsistentia). It exists and remains in the proper sense of the word (proprie), but medicine is nothing like that. 4. But let’s move on to the Gospel saying itself, in which it is written that “the Spirit is God” (John 4:24), and we will show how it should be understood in application to what is said above. At the same time, we should ask ourselves: when did our Savior actually pronounce this expression, and also to whom and when discussing what issue? We find, without a doubt, that He said this while talking to a Samaritan woman, who, according to the general opinion of the Samaritans, thought that God should be worshiped on Mount Gerizim. The Samaritan woman, mistaking Him for a Jew, asked Him whether God should be worshiped in Jerusalem or on this mountain, and said this: “Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you say that in Jerusalem there is a place where it is appropriate to worship” (John 4:20). So, regarding this opinion of the Samaritan woman, who thought that due to the advantage of bodily places, either the Jews in Jerusalem or the Samaritans on Mount Gerizim did not worship God quite correctly and lawfully (minus recte vel rite), the Savior replied that those who wish to follow the Lord must leave prejudice regarding the advantage of places and in this case says this: “The hour is coming when the true worshipers will worship the Father, neither in Jerusalem nor in the mountain.” this; spirit is God, and whoever worships Him is worthy to worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:21–24). And look how consistently He connected truth with spirit: in contrast to bodies, He named spirit, and in contrast to shadow or image, truth. In fact, those who worshiped God in Jerusalem served a shadow or image, and, therefore, worshiped God neither in truth nor in spirit. God was worshiped in the same way by those who worshiped on Mount Gerizim. 5. Having refuted, as far as possible, every thought about the corporeality of God, we affirm, in accordance with the truth, that God is incomprehensible (incomprehensibilem) and inestimable (inaestimabilem). Even if we were given the opportunity to know or understand anything about God, we still, of necessity, must believe that He is incomparably better than what we have learned about Him. Indeed, if we saw a person who can barely see a spark of light or the light of the shortest candle, and if this very person, whose visual acuity cannot perceive more light than we said above, we wanted to give an idea of ​​​​the clarity and brilliance of the sun, then, without a doubt, we would have to tell him that the brilliance of the sun is inexpressibly and incomparably better and more beautiful than any light visible to him. So is our mind. Although he is considered much higher than the corporeal nature, however, striving for the incorporeal and delving into the contemplation of it, he is barely equal to some spark or candle - and this is so long as he is enclosed in the bonds of flesh and blood and, due to participation in such matter, remains relatively motionless and dull. And among all spiritual (intellectualibus), that is, incorporeal beings, what being is so inexpressible and incomparably superior to all others, if not God? Indeed, His nature cannot be comprehended and contemplated by the power of the human mind, even if it were the purest and brightest mind. 6. To clarify the matter more clearly, it seems not superfluous to use another comparison. Our eyes cannot contemplate the very nature of light, that is, the substance of the sun, but by contemplating its brilliance or the rays pouring into windows or some other small conductors of light, we can realize how great the very heat and the very source of bodily light are. In the same way, the works of divine industry and the art of organizing the universe are, as it were, some rays of the divine nature, in comparison with substance and nature itself. Our mind, with its own powers (per seipsam), cannot contemplate God Himself as He is, but recognizes the Father of all creatures from the beauty of works and the splendor of the universe. So, God should not be considered as some kind of body or dwelling in a body, but as a simple spiritual nature (intellectualis natura), not allowing any complexity in itself. He does not have anything greater or lower in Himself, but there is - from any side - moná_s and, so to speak, éna_s. He is the mind and at the same time the source from which all rational nature, or mind, begins. But the mind, in order to move or act, does not need any material place, nor sensory magnitude, nor bodily form or color, nor anything else that belongs to body or matter. Therefore God, as simple nature and total (tota) mind, in his movement and action cannot have any gradualness or retardation. Otherwise, complexity of this kind would to some extent limit and violate the simplicity of the divine nature. Meanwhile, that which serves as the beginning of everything should not be complex and different: that which, being alien to any bodily complexity, should consist, so to speak, of only one type of divinity, cannot be many, not one. And that the mind, in order to move in accordance with its nature, does not need a place - this is undoubtedly shown by observation of our mind. Indeed, if the mind is in a normal state and does not experience any dullness for any reason, then the difference of places will not in the least hinder it in its activities, and, on the other hand, from the quality of the place it does not acquire any multiplication or increase in its activities. True, someone will object that, for example, in people who sail on a ship and are subjected to rocking by sea waves, the mind works somewhat worse compared to how it usually works on land. But in this case it must be thought that the mind undergoes this (change) not due to the difference of places, but due to the disturbance and confusion of the body with which the mind is connected. The human body at sea acts, apparently, as if against its nature, and for this reason, with some kind of imbalance, it randomly and according to its state perceives the impulses of the mind and poorly obeys the blows of its tip. The same thing happens to people on earth, for example, to those who are sick with fever. If their mind, as a result of a fever, does not perform its work, then the fault should not be considered to be the place, but the illness of the body: the body, shocked and outraged by the fever, does not at all fulfill its usual duties in relation to the mind, in known and natural phenomena, because we humans are animals, made up of the interaction of body and soul, and (only) in this way we have the opportunity to live on earth. God, who is the beginning of everything, should not be considered complex; otherwise it will turn out that the elements from which everything that is called complex is composed existed before the very beginning. But the mind, for its action or movement, does not need bodily size, just as (needs it, for example) the eye, which expands when examining very large bodies and narrows and contracts when examining small and small bodies. The mind needs mental size, because it grows not physically, but mentally. True, until the twentieth or thirtieth year, the mind increases along with the body, however, not by bodily increments, but in such a way that, through study and exercise, the receptivity of the faculties is improved and everything that is invested in them enters the realm of understanding. Thus, the mind becomes capable of greater understanding, not as a result of increase in dependence on bodily increments, but through educational exercises. However, the mind cannot perceive teachings immediately after birth or in childhood, since the constitution of the (bodily) members, which the soul uses as organs for its exercise, has not yet reached a certain firmness and strength in the child, so that as a result the mind is not able to withstand intense activity and does not have sufficient ability to perceive the teaching. 7. If someone considers the mind and soul itself to be a body, then I would like him to answer me how the mind perceives concepts and evidence of such great, difficult and subtle things? Where does the power of memory come from? Where does the contemplation of invisible objects come from? Why is it inherent in the body to understand incorporeal things? How does the corporeal nature go deeper into the study of arts, into reasoning about things, and into the knowledge of causes? Why can she know and understand divine dogmas, which are obviously incorporeal? True, one may think that just as this bodily form and the very structure of the ears or eyes are adapted to hearing or seeing, and as each of the members created by God, by the very property of its form, is adapted to fulfill its natural purpose, so the structure of the soul or mind, one must think, is skillfully adapted to know and think about various objects and obey the impulses of life. But I don't understand how anyone can describe or name the color of the mind, specifically the mind acting mentally? – To confirm and clarify what we said about the mind, or about the soul, namely, about the superiority of the mind over the entire bodily nature, we can add the following. Each bodily sense is subject to some corresponding sensory substance, to which the bodily sense itself extends. For example, colors, shapes, and sizes are subject to vision; hearing – words and sounds; sense of smell – the smell of burning, good and bad odors; taste – tastes; to touch - everything is cold and hot, hard and soft, rough and smooth. But it is clear to everyone that the sense of the mind (sensus mentis) is much higher than these feelings that we have spoken about. So, isn’t it strange that substances are subject to the lower senses, to which their activity extends to a higher power, that is, nothing substantial is subject to the sense of the mind, but the power of intellectual nature is an accidental accessory or consequence of bodies? Those who assert this, no doubt, degrade a substance which in themselves is comparatively better. And this is an insult to God Himself, Who, from their point of view, turns out to be comprehensible with the help of a bodily substance, and therefore, in accordance with them, He Himself is a body - is that which can be comprehended and known with the help of a body. They do not want to understand that the mind is to some extent akin to God, that it serves as a mental image (imago) of Him and that is why it can know something about the nature of the Divine, especially if it is pure and detached from corporeal matter. 8. But perhaps these proofs have little authority for those who want to draw knowledge about divine things from Holy Scripture and it is from Scripture that they try to verify how the nature of God exceeds the nature of the body. So, see if the apostle is not saying the same thing when he expresses himself about Christ in the following way: “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation” (Col. 1:15). One cannot think, along with some, that the nature of God is visible to one and invisible to others. After all, the apostle did not say: “the image of God, invisible to people or to sinners,” but quite firmly proclaims the very nature of God when he says: “the image of the invisible God.” Also, John, saying in the Gospel: “No one has seen God anywhere” (John 1:18), clearly proclaims to everyone - who can understand - that there is no nature for which God is visible; he does not say that God, being visible by His nature, is not accessible only to the sight of the weakest creature, but that by His very nature He cannot be visible. If you ask me what I think about the Only Begotten Himself: is it really possible, in my opinion, that the nature of God, invisible by His very nature, is not visible to Him? - then do not immediately consider this thought impious or stupid, because we will immediately indicate the basis for it. It is another thing to see and another thing to know. To be visible and to see is characteristic of bodies, but to be known and to know is characteristic of the mental nature. So, what is characteristic of bodies should not be thought about either the Father or the Son: in the mutual relations of the Father and the Son there is only that which is characteristic of the nature of the Divinity. And finally, the Savior Himself in the Gospel did not say that no one sees the Father except the Son, nor the Son except the Father, but said: “no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son” (Matthew 11:27). This clearly indicates that what in relation to bodily beings is called: “to be visible and to see”, is called in relation to the Father and the Son: “to know and to be known” - of course, by the power of knowledge, and not by mortal appearance. So, in relation to the incorporeal and invisible nature one cannot speak of either vision or visibility, which is why the Gospel does not say that the Father sees the Son and the Son sees the Father, but it says that they know (each other). 9 . Someone will ask us: why is it said: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God?” (Matthew 5:8) But this saying, I think, further confirms our thought: for what does it mean to see God with the heart, if not to understand and know Him with the mind, as we outlined above? In general, the names of the sensible members often refer to the soul; from here, to see with the eyes of the heart means to cognize something mental with the power of thought. In the same way, hearing with the ears means a feeling of deepest understanding. We also say that the soul can use its teeth when it tastes and eats the bread of life that comes down from heaven. It is also said that the soul uses the functions of other members that are applied to its powers, just as Solomon says: “You will find the knowledge of God” (Prov. 2:5). Solomon knew that we have two kinds of feelings, one kind of feelings - mortal, perishable, human; the other kind - immortal and spiritual - is the one that he called divine. It is with this divine feeling - not of the eyes, but of a pure heart, that is, the mind - that all those who are worthy (of Him) can see God. In general, in all the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments you will find many places in which the heart is mentioned instead of the mind, that is, instead of cognitive power. Having thus reflected on the nature of God, although much worse than it should, of course, due to the insufficiency of human understanding, we will now consider what the name of Christ means. 1. First of all, we need to know that in Christ the nature of His Divinity is a different matter, because He is the only begotten Son of God; and another thing is human nature, which He took on in the last time according to the dispensation. In view of this, we must first consider what the only begotten Son of God is. It is known that He is called by many and different names, depending on the circumstances and concepts of those calling. So He is called Wisdom, as we find in the words of Solomon: “The Lord created (creatae) Me the beginning of His ways into His works before He did anything, before the age was the foundation of Me. In the beginning, before I could create the earth, and before I could make the deeps, before I could become a source of water, before the mountains could be raised, before I brought forth Me” (Prov. 8:22-25). He is also called the firstborn, as the apostle says: “He is the firstborn of all creation” (Col. 1:15). And yet the first-born is not different in nature from Wisdom, but one and the same (with Her). Finally, the Apostle Paul says: “Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:24). 2. However, let no one think that by calling the Son the Wisdom of God, we recognize Him as something not substantial - as if we, for example, consider Him not to be some kind of intelligent living being (anima), but some thing that can make (people) wise and is communicated to the minds of those who become receptive to properties and to understanding it. So, if once it is properly accepted that the only begotten Son of God is His Wisdom, existing substantially (substantialiter subsistentem), then, in my opinion, our mind should no longer wander into conjectures such as whether the very úpostasi_s, that is, the substance (substantia) of the Son, does not have anything corporeal; After all, everything corporeal has either a form, or a color, or a size, but what sane person would look for color or size in Wisdom as precisely wisdom? God the Father could never, not for a single moment, of course, exist without giving birth to this Wisdom: this is how everyone who knows how to think piously and think about God should think and believe. In fact, if God gave birth to Wisdom, which did not exist before, then He could not give birth to Her before He gave birth, or He could, but did not want to give birth. But this cannot be said about God: it is clear to everyone that both assumptions are absurd and impious; in both cases it is revealed that God either rose from a state of inability to a state of ability, or, under the assumption of His ability, He hesitated and delayed giving birth to Wisdom. That is why we always recognize God as the Father of His only begotten Son, born of Him and receiving being from Him, but without any beginning, not only one that can be divided into any temporal extensions, but also one that is usually contemplated by the mind alone (mens) in itself, and which is perceived, so to speak, by pure thought and spirit (animo). So, one must believe that Wisdom was born outside of every principle that can be spoken or thought about. – In this very hypostasis of Wisdom (sapientiae subsistentia) was located all the power (virtus) and destiny (deformatio) of the future creation, both that which exists from the very beginning of the world (principialiter) and that which happens subsequently (consequenter): all this was destined and located in Wisdom by the power of foreknowledge. In view of these creations, which were, as it were, predetermined and destined in Wisdom Herself, Wisdom says through Solomon about Herself that She was created by the beginning of the ways of God, or what is the same - contains in Herself the beginnings, or forms, or types of all creation. 3. So, when it is said that Wisdom is the beginning of the ways of God and that it was created, this, according to our understanding, means that Wisdom prescribes and contains in Itself the beginnings of all creation. The designation of Wisdom as the Word of God should also be understood, namely in the sense that Wisdom reveals to all other (beings), that is, to all creation, the knowledge (rationem) of the secrets and everything hidden contained within (intra) of God’s Wisdom: It is called the Word because it serves as an interpreter of the secrets of the spirit (mentis). Therefore, it seems to me that the saying written in the Acts of Paul is correct: “This is the Word, a living being” (animal vivens). As for John, he speaks even more sublimely and beautifully when, at the beginning of his Gospel, he gives his own definition that the Word is God. He says this: “And God is the Word, and He was with (apud) God from time immemorial” (John 1:1–2). But whoever at the same time attributes the beginning to the Word of God, or the Wisdom of God, obviously extends his wickedness even to the unbegotten (ingenitum) Father Himself, since then he will deny the truth that He was always the Father and begat the Son and had Wisdom in all previous times or centuries, in a word, during the continuation of everything that can be in any way designated in human language. 4. This Son is the truth and life of all that exists - and in justice. Indeed, how could all created beings live if not through Life alone? Or how would they stand in the truth if they did not come from the Truth? Or how could they be rational beings if the Word or Reason did not exist before them? Or how would they philosophize if there were no Wisdom? But since some creatures were destined to fall away from life and cause death to themselves—precisely by falling away from life itself (for death is nothing other than falling away from life)—and since at the same time it would, of course, be inconsistent if what God had once created for life completely perished, then in view of this, before death there had to exist such a force that could destroy this future death and be a resurrection. This resurrection was realized in our Lord and Savior - precisely that resurrection that abided in the Wisdom of God itself, both in the Word and in life. Since, further, some created beings, who did not want to remain forever inflexible, unchangeable and remaining with the same and calm balance in the same goods, were subsequently destined to be corrupted, changed and fall from their state - due, of course, to the fact that goodness is not inherent in them by nature, that is, not substantially, but as an accidental property - then, in view of this, the Word and Wisdom of God became way. Wisdom is called the way because it leads those who come through Her to the Father. So, what we said about the Wisdom of God - all this can be fully applied to the name of the Son of God Life, Word, Truth, Resurrection, because all these names are taken from His works and powers, and in none of these names even the most superficial thought can understand anything corporeal, having size, or shape, or color. The sons of men, visible to us, or the children of other animals correspond to the seed of their fathers or mothers, in whose womb they are formed and nourished; from them they have everything that they bring with them when they are born into this world. But to compare God the Father - in the birth of His only begotten Son and in the gift of existence to Him (in subsistentia) - with any parent from among people or other creatures is both wicked and lawless. The birth of a son is something exceptional and worthy of God; for him no comparison can be found, not only in things, but also in thought and in the mind, so that human thought cannot understand how the unbegotten God becomes the Father of the only begotten Son. After all, this birth is eternal and uninterrupted (sempiterna), just as radiance is born from light. For the son is not Son by adoption from without through the Holy Spirit, but Son by nature... 5. However, we must see how what is said is confirmed by the authority of divine Scripture. Thus, the Apostle Paul says that the only begotten Son is the image of the invisible God and that He is the firstborn of all creation (Col. 1:15), and in his letter to the Hebrews he writes that He “is the radiance of glory and the image of His hypostasis” (Heb. 1:3). Also in the Wisdom, called Solomon, we find the following image of the Wisdom of God. She “is the vapor (vapor) of the power of God and the pure outpouring (apórroia) of the Almighty glory: for this reason nothing defiled attacks her. The radiance is the ever-present light and an immaculate mirror of God’s actions, and the image of His goodness” (Wis. 7:25–26). Wisdom, we repeat, has its existence (subsisten-tiam) no other way than in Him Who is the beginning of everything. From Him was born all wisdom, because He is the only Son by nature and is therefore called the only begotten. 6. Let's see how we should also understand that the Son is called the image of the Invisible - this is, of course, in order to find out in what sense God is rightly called the Father of His Son. And first of all, let us consider what people usually call images. Sometimes an image is called something that is usually depicted or carved on some material, that is, on wood or stone. Sometimes the begotten is called an image in relation to the one who gave birth, precisely when the features of the one who gave birth are completely similar to the features of the begotten. In the first sense, in my opinion, an image can be called a person created in the image and likeness of God. We will consider this in more detail when, with God’s help, we explain the passage from the book of Genesis that relates to this. The second meaning of the image is applicable to the Son of God, about whom we are now talking, due to the fact that He is the invisible image of the invisible God, just as Seth, according to the historical narrative, is the image of Adam. In fact, it is written like this: “And Adam begat Seth in his own image and after his own kind” (Gen. 5:3). This image contains an indication of the unity of nature and essence (naturae ac substantiae) of the Father and the Son. In fact, if everything that the Father does, the Son also does in the same way, then the image of the Father in the Son is imprinted precisely in the fact that the Son does everything in the same way as the Father, from Whom He was born, as if some kind of will (voluntas) of Him, originating from thought. And I think that the will of the Father is sufficient to carry out what the Father wants, for in His desire He uses, of course, not any other means, but the one indicated by the advice of His will. This is precisely how the hypostasis (subsistentia) of the Son is born from him. This, of course, must be agreed upon, first of all, by those who recognize that there is nothing that has not happened (ingenitum), that is, not being born (innatum), except only God the Father. However, one must be careful not to fall into the absurd fables of those who invent for themselves some kind of outflows, and at the same time divide the divine nature into parts and divide God the Father in Himself, while even slightly thinking about this in relation to an incorporeal being is not only extremely wicked, but also to the utmost degree reckless, in any case, completely inconsistent with reason - to think about dividing the incorporeal nature in essence. On the contrary, just as the will comes from the mind, and at the same time does not separate any part from it and is not itself separated from it, in the same way, one must think, the Father gave birth to the Son, this image of himself; therefore, just as He Himself is invisible by nature, so He gave birth to an invisible image. In fact, the Son is the Word - and therefore one should not think of anything sensual in Him. The Son is Wisdom, and in Wisdom nothing corporeal can be conceived. He is the true light, enlightening every person coming into the world (John 1:9), but He, of course, has nothing in common with the light of this sun. So, our Savior is the image of the invisible God the Father: in relation to the Father Himself, He is the truth; in relation to us, to whom He reveals the Father, He is the image through whom we know the Father, Whom no one else knows except the Son, and is also known by the one to whom the Son wants to reveal Him. He reveals the Father when He Himself serves as an object of knowledge, because whoever knows Him also knows the Father, as He Himself says about this: “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). 7. But since we have cited Paul’s saying that the Son is the radiance of the glory of God and the image of His hypostasis (substantiae), let us see what thought should flow from this saying. “God,” according to John, “is light” (1 John 1:5). So, the only begotten Son is the radiance of this light, illuminating all creation and what comes from Him is inseparable, just as radiance comes from light. The matter of light must be understood in accordance with the above considerations about the sense in which the Son is the path leading to the Father, in what sense He is the Word, explaining and offering to rational creatures the mysteries of wisdom and knowledge, in what sense He is truth, and life, and resurrection. So, through radiance one knows and feels what light itself is. This radiance, which for the weak and fragile eyes of mortals (people) seems comparatively acceptable and soft and little by little, as it were, teaches and prepares them to perceive the brilliance of the light itself, removing from them everything that impedes vision, according to the word of the Lord: “first take the logs out of your hair” (Luke 6. 42), - makes them capable of perceiving the glory of the light and thus becomes, as it were, some kind of mediator between people and the light. 8. But according to the word of the Apostle, He is not only the radiance of Glory, but also the imprinted image of His essence (substantiae) and even hypostasis (subsistentiae). Therefore, it seems to me, it is not superfluous to pay attention to the sense in which any other essence (substantia) and hypostasis (subsistentia), besides the very essence of God, can be called His image? The Son of God, who is called the Word of God and His Wisdom, alone knows the Father and reveals Him to those to whom He wishes, that is, to those who can become capable of perceiving the Word and Wisdom itself. So look, is it not because He can be called the imprinted image of His essence (substantiae) and even hypostasis (subsistence) that He makes it possible through Himself to comprehend and know God? In other words: is it not in this sense that He can be called the imprinted image of the essence (substantiae) of God, that being Wisdom, He first of all reflects in Himself everything that He wants to reveal to others and on the basis of which these latter know and comprehend God? And in order to make it even more clear in what sense the Savior is the image of the essence (substantiae) and hypostasis (subsistentiae) of God, we will use an example, which, however, does not fully and not in its proper sense designate the object in question, however, it seems applicable, in clarifying at least the position that the Son of God, being the image of God, humbled Himself and through His very humiliation tries to show us the completeness Deities. Let us assume, for example, that a statue has been made, which in its size occupies the entire circle of the earth and, due to its enormity, is not accessible to anyone’s observation; Let us assume that there is another statue, in terms of the arrangement of the limbs and facial features, in appearance and material in everything similar to the first, but not of such enormous size. Then people who cannot examine and contemplate the first, huge statue, seeing the second, smaller one, can admit that they saw that statue, because the smaller statue does not differ at all from the larger one in the outline of its limbs and face, appearance and material. In like manner, the Son of God, having humbled Himself in His equality with the Father and showing us the way to the knowledge of Him, becomes an imprinted image of His essence (substantiae), so that we, who did not have the opportunity to see the glory of the wonderful light inherent in the greatness of His Divinity, could gain access to the contemplation of the divine light at the sight of His radiance, thanks to the fact that He becomes this radiance for us. Of course, the comparison with statues, borrowed from material objects, has an application in explaining only that the Son of God, having inhabited the smallest form of the human body, reflected in Himself the immeasurable and invisible greatness of the Father, due to the similarity with His deeds and power. That is why He said to His disciples: “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9), “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). In the same sense, we must also understand the words: “The Father is in Me, and I in the Father” (John 14:20). 9 . Now let’s see how we need to understand the words of the Wisdom of Solomon, who speaks of Wisdom in this way: “She is the vapor (vapor) of the power of God, and the pure outpouring of the Almighty’s glory, and the radiance of the ever-present light, and the immaculate mirror of God’s actions, or powers, and the image of His goodness” (Wis. 7:25–26). According to the image of Solomon, the Wisdom of God is inherent in a partial form of everything that, according to his definition, belongs to God, and he mentions the power of God, glory, eternal light, action and goodness. He calls Wisdom steam, but not the glory of the Almighty and not the eternal light, and not the action of the Father, and not His goodness - because it was indecent to attribute steam to anything from all this - but quite correctly says that Wisdom is the steam of the power of God. So, you need to imagine the power of God, which forms the basis of God’s activity, with the help of which He organizes, maintains and controls everything visible and invisible; This is the power that is sufficient for all beings for whom God provides and to whom He is close to all as one. Namely, from all this immeasurably great power (occurs) evaporation, and, so to speak, power, which itself has its own subsistentia. Although this power comes from the power itself, just as will comes from thought, yet the very will of God also becomes the power of God. Thus, another force occurs, existing (subsistens) in its own particularity (in sua proprietate), or, as Scripture expresses it, a certain evaporation of the first, unborn power of God receives its being from it - and there is no time when it would not exist. Indeed, if someone wanted to say that at first she did not exist, and then received being (subsistentiam), then let him tell the reason why the Father, who gave her existence, did not do this first? If he indicates some beginning when this evaporation occurred from the power of God, then we will again ask why it did not occur before this beginning indicated by him; and so, constantly asking about what preceded and extending the questions further and further, we will finally come to the following thought: since God was always able and willing, there should never have been and could not even exist any reason why God should not always have the good that He wanted. From here it is clear that this vapor of the power of God, which has no beginning other than God Himself, has always existed, and (for it) there could be no other beginning except God Himself, from Whom it exists and is born. According to the apostle, who says that “Christ is the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:24), this steam must be recognized not only as the steam of God’s power, but also as the power of power. 10. Let us consider also the words: “The outpouring of the purest glory of the Almighty”; and, first of all, let us consider what the glory of almighty God is; and then we will also think about what its outpouring is. Just as no one can be a father if there is no son, and no one can be a master without possession, without a slave, so God cannot be called omnipotent if there are no beings over whom He would exercise power; and therefore, for the revelation of divine omnipotence, everything must necessarily exist. If anyone thinks that there were ever ages or stretches of time, or anything else of the same kind, when what was created was not yet created, then, without a doubt, he will show that in those ages or stretches of time God was not omnipotent, and only became omnipotent later, when beings appeared over whom He could rule. And this in turn would mean that God experienced some improvement and moved from a worse state to a better one, since being omnipotent for Him is undoubtedly better than not being so. But isn’t it stupid to think that God at first did not have something that was worthy of God to have, but received it only later through some improvement? If there is no time when God would not be omnipotent, then there must necessarily exist that through which He is called omnipotent: and God always had that over which to rule and what was subject to His control, as a king or head. However, we will discuss this more fully in our own place, when we talk about the creations of God; Now I consider it necessary to touch only briefly on this issue regarding the fact that we are now talking about Wisdom, precisely in the sense in which Wisdom is the purest outpouring of the glory of the Almighty. Since Wisdom, who is the Son of God, is called the purest outpouring of the glory of the Almighty, it may seem to someone that the name of the Almighty in God is the original birth of Wisdom, thanks to which (birth) He is called Father. But whoever thinks so, let him listen to what Scripture proclaims when it says with perfect clarity: “With wisdom you have created all things” (Psalm 103:24); let him also learn from the Gospel, where it is said that “all things were by Him, and without Him were nothing” (John 1:3): from this he will understand that the name of the Almighty in God cannot be older than the name of the Father, for the Father is omnipotent through the Son. But since he mentioned the glory of the Almighty, and the outflow of this glory is Wisdom, this makes it clear that Wisdom has a share in the glory of omnipotence, for which God is called Almighty. Indeed, through Wisdom, which is Christ, God rules over everything, and not only through the authority of the ruler, but also through the voluntary obedience of the subordinates. And so that you know that the omnipotence of the Father and the Son is one and the same, just as God and the Lord are one and the same with the Father (Son), listen to what John says in the Apocalypse: this is “Speaks the Lord, who is and who is and who is to come, the Almighty” (Rev. 1:8). But who is this coming one if not Christ? And just as no one should be tempted by the thought that the Savior is God, like the Father, Who is God; in the same way, no one should be tempted in the case when the Son of God is called Almighty, like the Father, who is also called Almighty. Thus, what (Christ) Himself says, turning to the Father, will turn out to be true: “All that is mine is yours, and yours is mine: and I am glorified in them” (John 17:10). If everything that belongs to the Father also belongs to the Son, and if among this “everything” is the Father’s omnipotence, then, without a doubt, the Only Begotten Son must also be omnipotent, so that everything that the Father has, the Son also has. And I, he says, “have become famous in them” (Ibid.). For “at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, both in heaven and on earth and under the earth: and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:10–11). And so, this Wisdom, glorified as the outpouring of omnipotence or glory, is the pure and bright outpouring of the glory of God as omnipotent. For a better understanding of what the glory of omnipotence is, I added the following consideration. God the Father is omnipotent because He holds everything in His power: heaven and earth, the sun, moon and stars, and everything in them. But He rules over all this through His Word, since “in the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth.” If every knee bows before Jesus, then, without a doubt, everything is subordinate to Jesus, and He Himself rules over everything, and through Him everything is already subordinate to the Father - namely, everything is subordinated through Wisdom, that is, by word and reason, and not by force and coercion. Thus, the glory of Jesus is that He possesses everything - and this glory is the purest and brightest glory of omnipotence, because everything is subordinated (to Him) by reason and wisdom, and not by force and compulsion. Moreover, this glory is correctly called the purest and brightest glory of Wisdom, in contrast to the glory that is so called not in its proper sense and not according to its dignity. True, every changeable being is also glorified by the deeds of justice and wisdom, but its glory cannot be true and bright, because truth or wisdom constitute an accidental property in it, and everything accidental can cease. The Wisdom of God, which is the only begotten Son of God, is indestructible and unchangeable in all respects, every good abides in Her substantially and, of course, cannot change or be corrupted, therefore Her glory is called pure and true. 11. Thirdly, Wisdom is called the radiance of eternal light. We outlined the meaning of this name above when we compared the sun and the radiance of its rays and, to the best of our ability, showed how this (comparison) should be understood. In view of this, we will add only one thing here. Everlasting or eternal in the proper sense is that which has no beginning of being and can never cease to be what it is. This is precisely what John indicates when he says: “God is light” (John 1:15). The wisdom of God is the radiance of this light, not just light, but infinite light. Therefore, She is also the eternal radiance and the radiance of eternity. If this is so, then from here in turn it is clear that the hypostasis (subsistentia) of the Son comes (descendit) from the Father Himself - but not in time (temporaliter), not from any other beginning, but namely from God Himself, as we said. 12. Wisdom is also called the pure mirror of energeía_s, that is, of the actions of God. But first we need to determine what the action of the power of God is? This is, so to speak, a certain power (vigor) through which the Father acts, either when he creates, or when he provides, or when he judges, or when he disposes and distributes everything in due time. So, just as the image of a person looking in a mirror reflects with complete accuracy all the movements and actions performed by this person, so too Wisdom wants to give exactly the same concept of Itself when it calls Itself a pure mirror of the action and power of the Father. In this sense, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the Wisdom of God, proclaims about Himself: “The works that the Father does, the Son also does in like manner” (Ibid). And he also says: “The Son cannot do anything for himself unless he sees the Father doing it” (John 5:19). So, the Son is completely in no way isolated and does not differ from the Father, and the work of the Son is not different from the work of the Father, but they, so to speak, have the same movement in everything. This is why Wisdom called Herself a pure mirror, in order to thus eliminate any thought of dissimilitude between the Son and the Father. However, some point to the example of a student who becomes like and imitates the teacher, and say that in the same way the Son realizes in corporeal matter what was first formed by the Father in spiritual beings. But, one wonders, will this be in accordance with the Gospel, where it is said that the Son does not do the same, but the same thing in a similar way? 13. It remains to consider what is the image of His goodness? In this name, I think, one can understand the same thing as we said above regarding the image reflected in the mirror. The original (principalis) goodness is, without a doubt, that from which the Son was born. But He is in everything the image of the Father; therefore, in justice, he should also be called the image of His goodness. Indeed, in the Son there abides no other, second, goodness besides that which exists in the Father. Therefore, the Savior Himself correctly says in the Gospel: “No one is good, except one God the Father” (Mark 10:18; Luke 18:19). This means that in the Son there is not another goodness, but the same one that is in the Father; therefore, the Son is rightly called the image of this goodness, because He does not come from something else (aliimde), but precisely from this original goodness, and in the Son there is no other goodness than in the Father, and there is no dissimilarity or distance between the goodness in the Father and in the Son. That is why one should not see any blasphemy in the words: “no one is good except one God the Father.” These words do not at all deny the goodness of Christ, or the Holy Spirit. They mean only that the original goodness, as we said above, must be thought in God the Father, and that the Son, being born, and the Holy Spirit, proceeding (procedens), without a doubt, borrow the nature of goodness inherent in the source from which the Son is born and the Holy Spirit proceeds. If in Scripture something else is called good, for example, an angel, a man, a slave, a treasure, a good heart, a good tree, then all these objects are not called good in the proper sense, since they contain in themselves an accidental goodness, and not a substantial one. As for all the other names of the Son of God, such as: true light, sacrifice, truth, sanctification, redemption and others, then to collect them all together, and also to explain why He is called by each of these names, this is, of course, a difficult task and requires special writing and time. That is why, content with only what we discussed above, let us turn further to the subsequent reasoning. Chapter three. About the Holy Spirit 1. We must now consider, as briefly as possible, the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. All who in any way recognize Providence confess that there is an unborn God who created and arranged everything; they all acknowledge Him as the parentem of the universe. We are not the only ones who preach that He has a Son. Thus, although to the Greek and barbarian philosophers this doctrine seems rather surprising and incredible; but still some of them express an opinion about the Son when they confess that all things were created by the word or mind of God. We, by faith in our teaching, which we consider divinely inspired, are convinced that the most sublime and most divine teaching about the Son of God can be expounded and introduced into the consciousness of people only through Scripture, inspired by the Holy Spirit, namely, through the Gospel and the Apostle, as well as the law and the prophets, as Christ himself confirmed this. As for the hypostasis (subsistentia) of the Holy Spirit, no one could even have any assumption regarding it, with the exception of those who were familiar with the law and the prophets, or those who profess faith in Christ. Although, of course, no one is able to express (the complete truth) about God the Father, but about Him, at least, you can get some idea through visible creatures and on the basis of what the human mind naturally knows; moreover, this concept can be confirmed by the Holy Scriptures. It is also true that no one knows the Son except the Father, but nevertheless the human mind learns from the Holy Scriptures how to think about Him - and not only from the New, but also from the Old Testament, precisely through the actions of the saints, who serve as prototypes of Christ, through these actions one can discern either His divine nature, or the human nature accepted by Him. 2. But many Scriptures teach us about the existence of the Holy Spirit. David in Psalm 50 says: “And do not take Your Holy Spirit away from Me” (Psalm 50:13). And the book of Daniel says: “The Holy Spirit which is in You” (Dan. 4:6). In the New Testament there are even more similar testimonies, from them we learn that the Holy Spirit descended on Christ, and that the Lord, after the resurrection, breathed on the apostles, saying: “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22). The Angel says to Mary: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you” (Luke 1:35). Paul says: “No one can speak of the Lord Jesus except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:3). We learn from testimonies that the being (substantiam) of the Holy Spirit has such dignity and power that saving baptism can be performed only by the authority of all (persons) - the highest Trinity, that is, not otherwise than through the joint mention of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and through the union with the unborn God the Father and His only begotten Son, also the name of the Holy Spirit. And who will not be amazed at the greatness of the Holy Spirit when he hears that whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man can hope for forgiveness, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not receive forgiveness either in the present age or in the future? 3. Everything was created by God, and there is no creature that did not receive its existence from Him. This truth is confirmed by many testimonies of Scripture, where the false opinions of some people are denied and refuted either about matter co-eternal with God, or about unborn souls, to which God allegedly gave not the existence of their very nature, but only order and improvement. Also in the book written by Hermas and known as “The Shepherd,” the angel of repentance, it says this: “first of all, believe that there is one God, who created and arranged everything, who brought everything from non-existence into being, who contains everything, but is not himself contained by anyone.” Similar words are found in the book of Enoch. However, so far we have not found in the Holy Scriptures a single saying where the Holy Spirit is called a creature (factura), even in the sense in which, as we saw above, Solomon calls Wisdom a creature, or in the sense in which we understood the meaning of calling the Son of God Life, Word and other names. That is why, to the best of my understanding, I express the opinion that the spirit that hovered over the waters (Gen. 1:2), - as it is written in relation to the beginning of creation, - is precisely the Holy Spirit, as we also showed when explaining the above passage, expressing, however, not a historical, but a spiritual understanding of this passage. 4. Some of our predecessors also noted that those places in the New Testament where the spirit is mentioned without an explanation indicating what kind of spirit it is must be understood in relation to the Holy Spirit - for example: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace” (Gal. 5:22), etc., or: “Having been filled with the Spirit, now you are finished in death” (Gal. 3:3). In our opinion, this distinction can also be maintained in relation to the Old Testament, where, for example, it is said: “Give breath to the people who are on the earth, and spirit to those who walk on it” (Isaiah 42:5). In fact, everyone who tramples the earth, that is, earthly and bodily, without a doubt, participates in the Holy Spirit, since he receives Him from God. Also, the Jewish teacher said that by the two six-winged seraphim, who, according to the description of Isaiah (Isaiah 6:3), called out to each other and said: “holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts,” one should mean the only begotten Son of God and the Holy Spirit. And we also think that the words of Habakkuk’s song: “In the midst of two animals, or two lives, You will be known” (Habakk 3:2), must be understood in relation to Christ and the Holy Spirit. In fact, all knowledge about the Father is obtained through the revelation of the Son in the Holy Spirit, so that both of these (Beings), called by the prophet animals or lives, serve as the cause of knowledge about God the Father. And just as it is said about the Son that “No one knows the Father except the Son, and (also) to whom the Son chooses to reveal it” (Luke 10:22), so about the Holy Spirit the apostle says: “God has revealed it to us by His Spirit, for the Spirit tests all things, even the deep things of God” (1 Cor. 2:10). And the Savior in the Gospel, mentioning the divine and deepest teachings, which His disciples could not yet accept, says to the apostles: “The Imam has yet to speak many things to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, comes, He will teach you everything and remember everything that has been said to you” (John 16:12, 14:26). Thus, one must think that, like the Son, who alone knows the Father, reveals (Him) to whomever he wants; so the Holy Spirit, piercing the depths of God, reveals God to whomever He wants, for “The Spirit breathes wherever He wants” (John 3:8). But one cannot think at the same time that the Spirit has knowledge (of the Father) insofar as the Son reveals Him. If the Spirit knows the Father by the revelation of the Son, then it means He moves from ignorance to knowledge, but to confess the Holy Spirit and, at the same time, attribute ignorance to Him, of course, is both ungodly and stupid. Who will dare to say that the Holy Spirit was at first something else, and then, through perfection, became the Holy Spirit, and that, not yet being the Holy Spirit, He did not know the Father, and then, having received knowledge, became the Holy Spirit? If this were so, then the Holy Spirit, of course, would never be in the unity of the Trinity, that is, in the unity of the unchangeable God the Father and His Son: this unity is possible only if the Spirit Himself was always the Holy Spirit. Of course, when we say: “always”, “was”, or allow for some other designation of time, then this must be taken simply and in a figurative sense, because all these expressions have a temporary meaning, and the objects we are talking about only in words allow a temporary designation, but by their nature they surpass any thought about time. 5. In fairness, it seems that it should also be subject to investigation as to why the one who is actually reborn through God to salvation needs the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and why he can receive salvation only through the whole Trinity; Why, finally, is it not possible to participate in the Father or the Son without the Holy Spirit? In thinking about this, we must of necessity describe the special action of the Holy Spirit and the special action of the Father and the Son. I think that the action of the Father and the Son extends to both saints and sinners, both rational people and dumb animals, and even to inanimate objects and, in general, to everything that exists. The action of the Holy Spirit in no case extends to inanimate objects, or to animate but dumb creatures, nor does it extend to rational beings who are in evil and have not turned to the better. The action of the Holy Spirit, in my opinion, extends only to those who are already turning to something better and walking in the ways of Jesus Christ, that is, living in good works and abiding in God. 6. And since the action of the Father and the Son extends to both saints and sinners, it is clear from here that all rational beings participate in the Word, that is, Reason, and, thus, carry within themselves, as it were, some seeds of Wisdom and truth, which is Christ. And in the One who truly exists and who said through Moses: “I am this” (Ex. 3:14), everything that exists participates: and this participation in God the Father extends to everyone: both to the righteous and to sinners, to both rational and irrational beings - in a word, to everything that exists. Indeed, the apostle shows that everyone has a share in Christ when he says: “Do not say in your heart: Who will ascend to heaven? that is, to bring Christ together; or who will go down into the abyss? that is, to raise Christ from the dead. But what does Scripture say? The word is near, in your mouth and in your heart” (Rom. 10:6–8). With these words the apostle shows that Christ, as the Word or reason, is in the heart of everyone, and it is precisely by participation in Him that they are reasonable. The Gospel also says: “If he had not come and spoken to them, they had no sin: but now they have no guilt (excuses) for their sin” (John 15:22). Whoever knows how long a person does not have sin, and from what age he is guilty of sin, will clearly see from these words in what sense it is said that people have sin as a result of participation in the Word or in reason. The fact is that from Him they received the ability to understand and know, and in fact, the mind already put inside them makes in them the distinction between good and evil. Therefore, if they do evil, having already realized what it is, then they become guilty of sin. This is precisely what the words (of the Savior) mean that people have no excuse for their sin since the divine Word or reason began to show them in their hearts (their) the difference between good and evil, so that they could avoid and beware of all evil, because “to him who does good, and to him who does not do sin, he has sin” (James 4:17). Further, the Gospel also teaches that all people are not outside of communion with God. It says the following in the words of the Savior: “The kingdom of God will not come with observance, below they say: behold, here or there, for the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20–21). Don’t the words of Genesis mean the same thing: “And I will blow into his nostrils the breath of life, and man becomes a living soul” (Gen. 2:7). If we understand them as applied to all people in general, then it means that all people have a share in God. 7. But if we understand this expression as applied to the Holy Spirit - because, according to some, Adam also prophesied - then this participation should no longer be considered common, but belonging only to the saints. And during the flood, when all flesh perverted the way of God, God, as it is written, said about the unworthy and sinners: “My Spirit shall not abide in these men forever, for they are flesh” (Gen. 6:3). Here it is clearly shown that the Holy Spirit is taken away from everyone unworthy. Also in the psalms it is written: “Take away their spirit, and they will disappear, and they will return to their dust, having flown from Your Spirit, and they will be created, and you will renew the face of the earth” (Psalm 103:29:30). This is obviously said about the Holy Spirit, who, after removing and destroying sinners and the unworthy, will Himself create a new people and renew the face of the earth, when people, having laid off, with the help of the grace of the Spirit, the old man with his deeds, begin to walk in newness of life. And therefore it is correctly said about the Holy Spirit that He will not dwell in everyone and not in those who are flesh, but in those whose earth will be renewed. Therefore, finally, through the laying on of apostolic hands after baptism, grace and revelation of the Holy Spirit were given. And our Savior, after the resurrection, when everything old had already passed away and everything had become new, Himself, being a new man and the firstborn from the dead, said to His apostles, also renewed by faith in His resurrection: “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22). This is precisely what the Lord Savior Himself indicated in the Gospel when he said that new wine cannot be poured into old wineskins, and because of this he commanded that the wineskins be new (Matthew 9:16-17), that is, that people should walk in the renewal of life, so that they could thus receive the new wine, that is, the renewal of the grace of the Holy Spirit. – Thus, the action of the power of God the Father and the Son extends to every creature indifferently, but in the Holy Spirit, as we have found, only the saints have participation. That is why, of course, it is said: “No one can speak of the Lord Jesus except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:3). And the apostles themselves barely had time to hear: “You will receive the power that the Holy Spirit has brought upon you” (Acts 1:8). Therefore, of course, as I think, everyone who sins against the Son of Man is worthy of forgiveness: in fact, whoever has participation in the Word of God, or in reason, and at the same time ceases to live rationally, he falls, as it were, into unreason or stupidity and therefore actually deserves forgiveness; but whoever has earned participation in the gifts of the Holy Spirit and turned back, he, as the Scripture says, has already blasphemed the Holy Spirit. However, based on what we said, namely, that the Holy Spirit helps only the saints, and the benefits or actions of the Father and the Son extend to the good and the evil, the righteous and the unjust, let no one think that by this we expressed preference for the Holy Spirit over the Father and the Son, or recognized the highest dignity for Him; in any case, such a conclusion does not follow at all from the previous (reasoning): after all, we described there only the peculiarity of grace and the action of the Holy Spirit. In the Trinity, of course, one should not think of anything more or less, since the source of the one Divinity contains the entire universe with His Word and mind, and with the Spirit of His mouth sanctifies everything worthy of sanctification, as it is written in the psalm: “By the Word of the Lord the heavens were established, and by the Spirit of His mouth all their power” (Psalm 32:6). God the Father, however, has some other primary action along with that through which He imparts existence to all beings by nature. And the Lord Jesus Christ has some special service in relation to those to whom He imparts a rational nature - such a service through which He helps beings to be good. There is also another grace in the Holy Spirit - a grace that is given (from Him) to those worthy, is arranged through the mediation of Christ, and is produced (inoperatur) by the Father, depending on the merits of all those who become capable of receiving it. And that this is so is very clearly indicated by the Apostle Paul when he speaks of the same power of the Trinity: “The divisions of gifts are, and the same is the Spirit, and the divisions of ministries are, and the same is the Lord, and the divisions of activities are, and the same is God, working all in all. The manifestation of the Spirit is given for the benefit of everyone” (1 Cor. 12:4–7). Here it is very clearly stated that in the Trinity there is no separation (discretio), which is called the gift of the Spirit, is revealed through the Son (per Filium) and acts through God the Father. “But all this operates in one and the same Spirit, dividing power to each as he wills” (1 Cor. 12:11). 8. From these testimonies about the unity of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, let us now return to what we actually began to talk about. – God the Father gives existence to all beings, and participation in Christ, as the Word or reason, makes beings rational. It follows that these beings are worthy of either praise or punishment, since they are capable of virtue and vice. Therefore, there is also the grace of the Holy Spirit, so that beings who are not holy by nature (substantialiter) are made holy through participation in this grace. So, beings have their existence from God the Father, intelligence from the Word, and holiness from the Holy Spirit. Moreover, those beings who have previously (ante) been sanctified (sanctiilcata) through the Holy Spirit become capable of perceiving Christ as the truth of God, and those who have already been worthy to reach this stage (moral rebirth) through the sanctification of the Holy Spirit will still receive the gift of wisdom according to the power and action of the Holy Spirit. This thought, in my opinion, is expressed by the Apostle Paul when he says that to some the word of wisdom is given, to others the word of knowledge by the same Spirit. But with all this, indicating a strictly defined difference in gifts, the apostle refers all these gifts to the source of everything and says: “Divisions of actions are, and at the same time there is God, acting all in all” (1 Cor. 12:6). That is why the action of the Father, which imparts existence to all beings, turns out to be especially glorious and majestic in the case when everyone succeeds and ascends to the highest levels of perfection through participation in Christ as wisdom, knowledge and sanctification; - the action of the Father is especially glorious also when someone, having achieved a greater degree of purity and righteousness through participation in the Holy Spirit, receives the grace of wisdom and knowledge with dignity and, after destroying and purifying all stains of vice and ignorance, achieves such perfect righteousness and purity in which the being he received from God becomes completely worthy of God. And God actually gives existence so that it is pure and perfect, so that it is as worthy as the God who gave it. Thus, the power (virtutem) - to always exist and to remain forever - will be received from God by the one who turns out to be what he should be according to the will of the God who created him. However, in order for this to happen and for created beings to stand unchangeably and inseparably before Being, they must certainly be instructed and taught by Wisdom and raised to perfection through confirmation by the Holy Spirit and through constant sanctification (sanctificatione), through which they can cling to God alone. So, with the constant action of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, renewal (instauratio) at all stages of perfection, we may someday, although with difficulty, gain the opportunity to contemplate a holy and blessed life (beatam vitam). When, after lengthy exploits, we manage to approach this life, then we must be so strong that we can never be overcome by satiety with this life; on the contrary, with gradual greater and greater penetration into this bliss, the thirst for it should increase and grow in us more and more, under the condition, of course, of more and more ardent and zealous perception and preservation of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. However, if someone who is in the highest and most perfect state is overcome by satiety, then I do not think that he will become empty (evacuetur) and fall away from it suddenly: he must necessarily fall little by little and gradually. Consequently, if someone sometimes accidentally undergoes a slight fall, but soon comes to his senses and comes to his senses, then he actually cannot completely destroy (his moral state), but can rise again and return to the previous level; - he can again restore what he lost through negligence. Chapter Four. About diminishment or fall 1. But in order to more clearly represent this depreciation or fall of those who lived relatively carelessly, it does not seem superfluous to use a suitable comparison. Let us assume that someone, little by little, for example, in geometry or medicine, has acquired such experience and art that he has reached perfection, namely, through long instructions and exercises he has perfectly mastered the knowledge of the above-mentioned art. Of course, it can never happen to such a person that, having fallen asleep as an experienced person, he wakes up ignorant. (And it should be noted that in this case it is impossible to mean or mention everything that happens either as a result of some damage or relaxation, because all this does not fit the chosen comparison and example). And so, according to our assumption, while that physician or geometer practices reflection on his art and in rational studies, he, of course, retains knowledge of science. If he avoids exercise and neglects diligence, then little by little, due to negligence, he first loses a little, then more, and thus, after a significant period of time, everything comes into oblivion and completely disappears from memory. Of course, it can also happen that a person comes to his senses and comes to his senses relatively quickly, at the very beginning of the fall, when a still insignificant degree of negligence appears, and in this case he can even restore what was lost as a result of still insignificant oblivion. Now we can apply this (comparison) to those who have given themselves to the knowledge of God and wisdom - that wisdom which, in terms of study and difficulty, incomparably surpasses all other sciences - and, according to the given similarity, we can see what is the assimilation of this knowledge and what is the loss of it, especially if we keep in mind that, according to the apostle, those who are perfect will behold the glory of the Lord face to face, due to the revelation of the mysteries (2 Cor. 3:18). 2. However, out of the desire to show divine benefits towards us - those benefits that are given by the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, this Trinity, the source of all holiness - we have already stepped aside somewhat, but we considered it necessary, albeit briefly, to touch on the soul because further we will talk about rational nature in general. In our own place, with the help of God through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, it will be more convenient for us to talk about all rational nature, divided into three genera and species. Chapter five. About intelligent beings 1. After a brief, feasible discussion about the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, we should say a little about rational beings, about their types and orders, or about the duties of both holy and evil forces, as well as about creatures that occupy a middle place between good and evil and are still in a state of struggle and competition. In Holy Scripture we find many names of certain ranks and positions, both holy and opposite (to them); For our part, we will first indicate these names, and then, to the best of our ability, we will try to determine their meaning. So there are some angels of God, whom Paul calls ministering spirits, appointed to serve those who receive the inheritance of salvation (Heb. 1:14). The same Saint Paul names - I just don’t know where he got this from - some thrones, and dominions, and principalities, and powers, and after enumerating them, as if implying that, in addition to the above-mentioned, there are also some other positions and ranks of rational beings, he speaks of the Savior: “He is above all principality, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is called, not exactly in this world, but also in the future” (Eph. 1:21). By this he obviously shows that, in addition to those mentioned (ranks and positions), there are some others named in this age, but not counted by it and unknown to anyone else, and that there are also others - those who are not named in this age and will be named only in the next century. 2. Further, you need to know that any rational being who violates the boundaries and laws of reason, as a result of a crime directed against truth and truth, undoubtedly becomes a sinner. Consequently, every rational creature is worthy of praise and punishment - praise if, in accordance with its inherent reason, it succeeds for the better, - punishment if it deviates from reason and the preservation of the truth: in all these cases it is rightly subject to punishment and torment. This must be thought even of the devil himself and those who are with him and are called his angels. However, it is necessary to give the names of these latter so that we know what kind of creatures they are that we should be talking about. In many places in Scripture the name of the devil and Satan and the evil (spirit) are found, and the devil is called the enemy of God. The angels of the devil and the prince of this world are also mentioned, but it is not clearly stated who this prince of this world is; whether the devil himself or someone else. The princes of this world are also mentioned, having some wisdom that will be destroyed, but, it seems to me, it is not easy to decide whether these princes are one and the same with those rulers against whom we are fighting, or whether they are different beings. After the rulers, some other authorities are mentioned, against which our struggle is just as much as against the prince of this world and against the rulers of this darkness. Paul also mentions some other spirits of wickedness in high places. There is, of course, no need to talk about the evil spirits and unclean demons mentioned in the Gospels. Then, some beings are called by the same name of heavenly (creatures), but they are said to bow or bend the knee in the name of Jesus in the same way as those on earth and in the grave, whom Paul enumerates nearby (Phil. 2:10). – When discussing rational beings, one cannot remain silent about us, humans, because we are also considered rational animals. One cannot ignore the fact that (in Scripture) certain different ranks of people are mentioned when it is said: “The part of the Lord is His people Jacob, and His inheritance Israel.” Moreover, the rest of the nations are called part of the angels, because “when the Highest divides the tongues, as if the sons of Adam were scattered, you set boundaries for the tongues according to the number of the angels of God” (Deut. 32:9: 8). Consequently, together with other rational beings, the doctrine of the human soul must also be considered. 3. So, the Scriptures mention a lot of ranks and positions, which, of course, correspond to essences. Now the question arises: what kind of creatures did God create? Perhaps He created some holy and blessed beings such that they cannot accept anything contrary; and some such that they can become capable of both virtue and evil? Maybe we should think that He even created some such that they are completely incapable of virtue, and some again such that they are completely incapable of evil and can only remain in bliss, and others, finally, such that they can accept both? Beginning the study in the order of the given names, we will first of all consider: were the holy angels holy from the very beginning of their existence, are they holy now and will they be holy in the future? Have they really never sinned and can never sin? Then, from the very moment of their creation by God, the so-called holy authorities began to rule over the beings subordinate to them, and were these creatures created like this and for this reason, to be in obedience and subordination? Likewise, are the so-called authorities created like this and for this purpose in order to rule, or did they receive this power and dignity as a reward for some merit and virtue? Likewise, the beings called paths or thrones, have they earned this throne and stability of bliss along with the prolation of their substance, so that they possess this (bliss) solely by the will of the Creator? And to the so-called dominions, was not their dominion given at the creation itself, as an inseparable and natural advantage, and not as a reward for their success? In any case, if we admit that holy angels, and holy powers, and blessed thrones and glorious powers, and majestic dominions have their inherent power, dignity and glory by nature (substantialiter), then, without a doubt, we will have to think the same about the opposite beings. Then it will be necessary to think that those authorities against whom we are fighting did not subsequently receive a direction hostile and opposed to everything good, due to the deviation of their free will from good, but that this direction exists in their very nature (substantialiter); then it will also be necessary to admit that among both the authorities and the powers, malice did not appear after their substance, but along with it, then it will be necessary to admit that those whom the Apostle called rulers and captains of the darkness of this age, came to rule over darkness not due to a perversion of (moral) disposition (propositi), but due to necessity. The same thing will need to be thought about the spirits of lewdness, spirits of malice and unclean demons. But, in any case, it is absurd to think so about evil and nasty forces - it is absurd to separate the cause of their malice from the disposition of their freedom and attribute this cause to the Creator. If this is so, then we must necessarily say the same thing regarding the good and holy powers, i.e., that in them there is no substantial good. Good, as we have shown, is essentially found only in Christ and in the Holy Spirit and, of course, in the Father, for the nature of the Trinity, as shown, has no complexity, and, therefore, goodness cannot be an accidental property in it. From this it follows that every creature, for its deeds and for its motives, receives authority, or power, or dominion - that various powers, by merit, and not by the advantage of nature, are exalted and placed above those over whom they rule or dominate. 4. But lest it should seem that we reason about such great and difficult things by reason alone, and that by mere suppositions we compel our hearers to agree, we should see whether we cannot find confirmation of our position in the Holy Scriptures, and thus make it even more probable by the authority of Scripture. And, firstly, let us outline what Holy Scripture contains regarding evil forces; Then we will study about the other (forces), to what extent the Lord will honor us with His enlightenment, so that in such difficult questions we can find what is closest to the truth and what we need to think about them in accordance with the rule of piety. In the prophet Ezekiel we find two prophecies written by him in the appendix to the prince of Tire (Ezek. 26 and Eze. 28). Moreover, if someone does not first recognize the second prophecy, he may think that the first of them refers to some person who was a Tyrian prince. That is why we will not use anything from the first prophecy. As for the second, it is such that in no case should it be understood about a person, but about some higher power that fell from heaven and was cast into the underworld and into a worse state. This prophecy provides the clearest proof that the opposing forces were not created and were not created that way by nature, but moved from a better to a worse (state) and turned to evil, and that the blessed forces are also not of a nature that cannot accept the opposite even if it wants to, and is careless and does not guard the bliss of its state with all caution. If the so-called prince of Tyre, according to the prophet, was among the saints and was blameless and was in the paradise of God, and was adorned with a crown of beauty and glory, then can he be considered in any respect lower than any of the saints? In fact, it is written about him that he himself was a crown of beauty and glory and walked blameless in the paradise of God (Ezek. 28:12), - and is it possible to think that this particular prince did not belong to those holy and blessed powers who, as one must believe, were in bliss and were gifted with precisely such honor? But let's see what the very words of prophecy teach us. “And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, take lamentation against the prince of Tyrsk and say to him: this says Adonai the Lord. You are the seal of likeness and the crown of kindness. You were in the sweetness of God's paradise, you were adorned with every precious stone, sardium, and topazium, and emerald, and jacinthos, and anfrax, and jaspis, and silver, and gold, and achat, and amethyst, and chrysolyphus, and virillium, and onych; and with gold you have filled your treasures and your barns. From the same day you were created with the cherub, you were created in the mountain of the saints of God, you were among the stones of fire. You were blameless in your days, you were created from a wicked day, until unrighteousness was found in you. Because of the multitude of your purchases, you have filled your treasures with iniquity, and you have sinned, and you have been wounded by the mountain of God. And the cherub brought you away from the midst of the fiery Kamyks. Thy heart was lifted up in thy kindness, thy cunning was destroyed with thy kindness, for the multitude of thy sins I cast thee down to the earth, and gave thee before the kings as a reproof. For the sake of your sins and unrighteousnesses, you have desecrated your holy purchases. And I will bring out fire from among you, to destroy you: and I will give you to dust and coal on the earth before all who see you. And all those who talk about you will rise up against you. Thou hast wrought destruction, and thou shalt never do it again” (Ezek. 28:11-19). Now the question is, if anyone hears the following words: “You are the seal of likeness and the crown of kindness, you were in the sweetness of paradise, or: from a worthless day you were created with the cherubim, who made you a saint in the mountain of God,” then will he be so weak-minded as to attribute these words to any of the people or saints - not to mention the Prince of Tire? Indeed, among what kind of fiery stones can any person walk? Of whom can one think that from the very day of creation he was corrupted, and then iniquities were found in him, and he was cast down to the earth? What does it mean that at first he was not on earth, and then he was cast out to earth and that his sanctuaries were desecrated? So, this is what the prophet Ezekiel says about the prince of Tire. This prophecy, as we have shown, refers to an opposing force and very clearly testifies to the fact that this force was first holy and blessed, then, when unrighteousness was found in it, it fell and was cast out to the earth, but still it was not such by its very nature and creation. We think that this refers to some angel who received the responsibility of governing the Tyrian people and to whom, apparently, was entrusted with the care of the souls of the Tyrians. But what kind of Tire and what souls of the Tyrians should be understood here? Is it the Tire that is located in the countries of the Phoenician province or some other one, the image of which is the earthly Tire known to us? And the souls of which Tyrians should be understood here: these Tyrians, or the inhabitants of that spiritually understood Tire? However, it seems that this should not be discussed in this place, so that it does not seem that we are casually discussing such great and hidden things, which, meanwhile, require special writing or work. 5. Now let's look at a similar prophecy of Isaiah the prophet about another opposing force. He says: “As the morning star fell from heaven, rising in the morning; Contrite on earth, send your tongue to everyone. You said in your mind: I will ascend to heaven, I will set my throne above the stars of heaven, I will sit on the highest mountain, on the high mountains that are to the north, I will ascend above the clouds, I will be like the Most High. Now you will descend to hell and to the foundations of the earth. Those who see you will be amazed at you and say: this man has provoked the earth, shaken the kings, made the whole universe empty, and its cities have been scattered, and have not allowed the captives to leave. All the kingdoms of the tongues have rested in honor, each one in his own house. You will be cast down in the mountains, like a vile dead man, with many dead men, cut with the sword, descending into hell. Just as a robe soaked in blood will not be clean, so you will not be clean: you have destroyed My land and you have beaten My people; you will not endure forever, you evil seed. Prepare your children to be killed by the sins of your father, so that they do not arise and inherit the earth, and fill the earth with armies. And I will rise up against you, says the Lord of hosts, and I will destroy their name, and their remnant, and their seed” (Isaiah 14:12–22). This prophecy very clearly shows that the one who was formerly Dennitsa and ascended in the morning fell from heaven. If he was a creature of darkness, as some think, then how is it said that he was formerly Dennitsa? Or how could someone who had nothing luminous in himself rise up in the morning? Moreover, the Savior teaches us about the devil, saying: “I saw Satan like lightning falling from heaven” (Luke 10:18). Therefore, the devil was once light. It is remarkable that our Lord, Who is the truth, also compared the power of His glorious coming to lightning, saying: “As lightning comes from the east and appears to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (Matthew 24:27). And despite this, He at the same time compares Satan to lightning and says that he fell from heaven; He said this for the purpose, of course, to show that Satan was once in heaven and had a place among the saints, and participated in that light in which all the saints participate, and as a result of which the angels become angels of light, and the apostles are called the Lord the light of the world. Thus, Satan was once the light, and only then he committed treason and fell into this place, and his glory turned to dust, as is characteristic of the wicked in general, according to the expression of the prophet. As a result of this fall, he was called the prince of this world, that is, the earthly abode, which is why he also rules over all those who followed his evil, since even the whole world (I now call this earthly place the world) lies in evil (John 5:19) and precisely in this apostate. And that Satan is an apostate, that is, a defector, the Lord speaks about this in the book of Job: “Will you catch the apostate dragon with the bait” (Job 40:20), that is, a defector? It is known that by dragon we mean the devil himself. So, if some powers are called contrary and it is said that they were once immaculate, and innocence does not belong substantially to anyone except the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and holiness in every creature is an accidental property, still the accidental can cease; if, we repeat, these opposing forces were once immaculate and, of course, were among those who are still (and hitherto) remain immaculate; then this clearly shows that no one can be essentially pure, or by nature, and that equally no one can be defiled in substance. It follows from this that it depends on us and on our movements whether to be holy and blessed or, on the contrary, due to laziness and negligence, to fall from a state of bliss into malice and destruction to such an extent that the extreme development of evil - if someone has already become so careless about himself - reaches the state in which a being becomes a so-called opposing force. Chapter six. About the end or completion 1. The end or completion is the announcement of completed things. This circumstance reminds us that anyone who wants to read about this accomplishment or learn about it must begin to think about such sublime and difficult subjects with a perfect and skillful mind. Otherwise, he will either not receive any benefit from this kind of research, and they will seem empty and unnecessary to him, or, if he has a soul already prejudiced in a different direction, he will consider these studies heretical and contrary to the church faith - I repeat, not so much from rational conviction as from the prejudice of his soul. However, we also talk about these subjects with great fear and caution, and we research and reason more than we affirm anything for sure and definitely. We have already indicated above what needs to be given clear definitions (dogmate manifesto), and I think we did this when we talked about the Trinity. Now, as far as possible, we will practice reasoning rather than definition. - So, the end or completion of the world will come when everyone will be punished according to their deserts for their sins, and only God knows this time when everyone will receive what they deserve according to their deserts. We only think that the goodness of God, through Jesus Christ, calls all creation to one end, after the subjugation and subjugation of all enemies. After all, the Scripture says this: “The Lord said to my Lord: sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool” (Psalm 109:1). If the meaning of this prophetic saying is not entirely clear to us, then let us learn from the Apostle Paul, who says more clearly that “it is fitting for Him (Christ) to reign until He puts all enemies under His feet” (1 Cor. 15:25). If this, so clear, saying of the apostle did not sufficiently show us what the position of enemies under our feet means, then listen to his next words: “It is necessary that all things should be subject to Him” (Ibid, from 26-28. But what is this subordination by which everything must be subject to Christ? I think that this is the submission by which we ourselves wish to submit to Him, the submission by which both the apostles and all the saints who followed Christ were subordinate to Him. The submission by which we submit to Christ signifies the salvation of the conquered, granted by Christ, just as David said: “Does not my soul submit to God? From Him is My salvation” (Psalm 61:1). 2. Seeing such an end, when all enemies will submit to Christ, when the last enemy - death - will be destroyed, and when Christ, to whom everything is subjugated, will hand over the kingdom to God the Father - from such, I say, the end of things, let us turn to the contemplation of the beginning. The end is always like the beginning. And therefore, just as there is one end to everything, so there must also be one beginning to everything; and just as one end is facing many, so from one beginning have come distinctions and differences, which, by the goodness of God, through submission to Christ and unity with the Holy Spirit, are again called to one end, similar to the beginning - that is, all those who bend the knee in the name of Jesus are called and thereby express a sign of their submission. Those who bend the knee refer to the heavenly, the earthly and the underworld, but in these three names the whole universe is indicated, i.e. all those beings who, originating from one beginning, were divided according to merit into different ranks - namely, each being in accordance with its motives and characteristics, for good was not inherent in all of them substantially, just as it abides in the Father and His Christ and the Holy Spirit. Only in this Trinity, which is the auctor of everything, is goodness present substantially; all other beings have goodness as a contingent property that can cease, and are in bliss only when they participate in holiness and wisdom, and the Divinity itself (divinitate). If they are careless and shy away from such participation, then, due to their laziness, each creature itself becomes the cause of its own fall, and one falls faster, another more slowly, one more, another less. And since this fall, by which each being deviates from its state, - as we said, - has a very great variety, in accordance with the movements of the mind and will, because one creature falls more easily, another more heavily; then for this purpose there is a righteous court of divine Providence, so that everyone can receive according to their merits, according to the diversity of their movements, retribution for their falling away and rebellion, from the same beings who remained in that beginning, which, as we described, is similar to the future end - some receive the angelic rank in the management and administration of the world, others receive the rank of powers, others - the rank of principalities, others - the rank of authorities, in order to rule over those who need power over their heads, others receive the rank of thrones, that is, the position of judging and governing those who need it, others receive dominion - no doubt, over slaves. Nevertheless, this is given to them by divine providence, on the basis of impartial and righteous judgment, in accordance with the merits and successes that they have shown in (the matter of) participation (participationem) in God and in imitation of Him. Those same beings who fell from the state of original bliss, but did not fall incurably, are subject to the order and control of the holy and blessed ranks described above, using their help and corrected under the influence of saving instructions and teachings, they can return and be restored to the state of their bliss. Of these beings, in my opinion, as far as I can understand, this real order of the human race consists, which in the next century or in subsequent centuries, when, according to Isaiah (Isaiah 66:22), there will be heaven and a new earth, of course, will be restored into the unity that the Lord Jesus promises, speaking to God the Father about His disciples: “I pray not for these only, but also for those who believe their words for Me: that they may all be one, even as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in us” (John 17:20–21). And He also says: “Let them be one, as we are one. I am in them, and You are in Me, that they may be perfect in one” (Ibid. v. 22–23). This is confirmed by the Apostle Paul, in the words: “We will achieve all things in the union of faith, in a perfect man, to the measure of the age of the fulfillment of Christ” (Eph. 4:13). The same apostle urges us to imitate this unity even in this life, while we are in the church, which, of course, contains the image of the future kingdom: “Let all of you speak the same way, and let there be no strife among you, but let you be established in the same understanding and in the same thought” (1 Cor. 1:10). 3. However, it should be known that some of the creatures who have fallen away from the above-mentioned single principle have fallen into such lewdness and malice that they have become unworthy of the instruction or teaching by which the human race is instructed and studied in its carnal state, using the help of heavenly powers; on the contrary, they are in enmity and confrontation in relation to those being studied and taught. That is why this entire life of mortals (creatures) is full of exploits and struggle: after all, it is these creatures who are at enmity and war against us, who, without any caution, fell from a better state and which include the so-called devil and his angels, as well as other orders of evil, which the Apostle mentioned among the opposing forces. But, the question arises, can some of these ranks, acting under the command of the devil and obeying his malice, ever in future centuries turn to good in view of the fact that they still have the ability of free will, or should constant and inveterate malice, as a result of habit, turn into a kind of nature? You, reader, must investigate whether this part (of beings) will really not be at all in internal discord with that final unity and harmony, neither in these visible temporal ages, nor in those invisible and eternal? In any case, both during these visible and temporary, and during those invisible and eternal centuries, all existing beings are distributed in accordance with the rank, type, and merits of their merits, and some of them will achieve the invisible and eternal (being) at the very first, others only later, and some even in recent times, and then only through the greatest and most severe punishments and prolonged, so to speak, centuries-old, the most severe corrections, after first being taught by angelic forces, then by forces of higher degrees, in a word, by gradually ascending to heaven - by passing, in some form of instruction, all the individual services inherent in the heavenly forces. From here, I think, it is quite consistent to draw the following conclusion: every rational being, moving from one rank to another, can gradually move (from its own rank) to all the others and from all to each individual rank, because each creature achieves all these various states of prosperity and decline through its own movements and efforts, which are determined by the ability of each (creature) to free will. 4. Since (the Apostle) Paul says that there is something visible and temporary, and, in addition, something else - invisible and eternal, we ask why what is visible is temporary? Is it because after this (visible world), throughout the entire next century, when the dispersion and division of one beginning will be brought to the same end and similarity, there will be absolutely nothing (visible)? Or perhaps because the form of visible existence will pass away, although its substance will not be completely destroyed? Paul appears to confirm the latter assumption when he says “the image of this world is passing away” (1 Cor. 7:31). It seems that David indicates the same thing in the words: “The heavens will perish, but You remain, and they will all change like a robe, and hang down like a garment, and will be changed” (Psalm 101:27). In fact, if the heavens change, then it means they will not perish, for what changes, then, of course, does not yet perish, and if the image of the world passes away, then this does not yet mean the complete destruction and destruction of the material substance, but only indicates a certain change in quality and transformation of form. The same thought, no doubt, is expressed by Isaiah when he says in the form of a prophecy that there will be “new heavens and a new earth” (Isaiah 66:22). The renewal of heaven and earth and the change in the form of the present world, and the change of the heavens, are prepared, no doubt, for those who, following the path shown above, strive for that blessed end to which even the most enemies will submit, and when, according to the Scriptures, God will be all in all. If anyone admits the complete destruction of material, i.e., corporeal, nature in that final state of being, then I am not at all able to understand how so many such substances can live and exist without bodies, when only the nature of God, that is, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, can exist without material substance and without any admixture of corporeality? But perhaps someone else will say that in that final state of being, all bodily substance will be so pure and purified that it can be imagined like ether and some heavenly purity and intact (puritatis atque sinceritatis). However, how things will stand then, of course, only God and those who through Christ and the Holy Spirit have become his friends know. Chapter seven. About incorporeal and corporeal beings 1. All the above considerations were expressed by us in the form of ordinary considerations: after expounding the doctrine of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, we, to the best of our ability, interpreted and reasoned about rational beings, guided more by a sequence of thoughts than by a specific dogma. Now let us consider what we should further discuss in accordance with our dogma, that is, with church faith. – All souls and in general all rational beings, both saints and sinners, are created, or created; all of them, by their nature, are incorporeal, but for all that, even with their incorporeality, they are nevertheless created, because everything was created by God through Christ, as John generally teaches about this in the Gospel, in the following words: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was to God, and God was the Word. This is from time immemorial to God. All things were made by Him, and without Him nothing came into being” (John 1:1-3). And the Apostle Paul, describing everything created by type, category and order and at the same time wanting to show that everything was created through Christ, argues as follows: “By this all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, whether dominions, whether beginnings, whether powers, all things were created by Him and about Him, and He is before all, and He is the head.” ( Col. 1:16–18 ). So, the apostle clearly declares that in Christ and through Christ everything was created and created - visible, that is, bodily, and invisible, by which, in my opinion, we must understand nothing other than incorporeal and spiritual forces. Having named the corporeal and incorporeal in general, the apostle then, it seems to me, lists the types of beings (incorporeal), namely thrones, dominions, principalities, powers, powers. We said this with the intention of moving forward in order to the question of the sun, and the moon, and the stars. The question is, is it necessary to classify them among the authorities in view of the fact that, according to Scripture, they were created as árxo_s, that is, to rule over day and night? Or should we think that they only have authority over the day and night, since it is their duty to illuminate them, but that they do not, however, belong to the rank of authorities? 2. When it is said that everything, both heavenly and earthly, was created through Himself and created in Him, then, without a doubt, what is in the firmament, which is called heaven and on which these luminaries are established, is also included in the celestial category. Then, if by reasoning it has already been clearly established that everything is created and created and that among created things there is nothing that does not perceive good and evil and is not capable of both, then, one asks, would it be consistent to think in the same way as some of ours think, namely, that the sun, moon and stars are unchangeable and incapable of the opposite (movement)? Some thought the same even about the holy angels, and heretics also about souls, which they call spiritual natures. But let us first of all see what reason itself finds about the sun, moon and stars - is the opinion of some about their immutability correct, and how much can this opinion be confirmed by the Holy Scriptures? Job seems to show that the stars not only can be given over to sins, but that they are not even free from sinful infection; for it is written: “The stars are unclean before Him” (Job 25:5). Of course, this saying cannot be understood in relation to the shine of their body alone, as we speak, for example, about unclean clothes. After all, if we began to understand it in this sense, then blaming the impurity in the brilliance of the bodies of the luminaries would, without a doubt, lead us to insulting their Creator. Moreover, if the stars cannot obtain either a lighter body through diligence, or a less pure one through laziness, then why blame them for impurity if they do not receive praise for purity? 3. But for a clearer understanding of this (saying), we must first examine whether the luminaries can be considered animate and intelligent, then whether their souls arose along with their bodies, or whether they appeared before the bodies, and also whether these souls will be freed from their bodies after the end of the age, so that the luminaries will cease to illuminate the world, just as we are ending this life? It is true that it seems a rather bold undertaking to explore these questions, but in view of the fact that our confession consists in a zealous investigation of the truth, it will hardly be superfluous to consider and examine them, as far as it is possible for us, with the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit. So, we think that the luminaries can be considered animate on the basis of the consideration that, according to Scripture, they receive commandments from God, and this receipt of commandments can only apply to intelligent animate beings. God says this: “I have prescribed a commandment to all the stars.” But, one wonders, what are these commandments? Of course, these are commandments concerning the fact that each star, in its order and in its movements, gives the world a certain amount of light, because the so-called planets move in a different order, and in a different order the luminaries called fixed (aphneí_s). But at the same time, it is absolutely clear that neither the movement of a body can occur without a soul, nor can animate beings be at any time without movement. And the stars move in such an order and so regularly that there is never any noticeable confusion in their movements; in view of this, it would, of course, be extremely stupid to say that such order, such observance of correctness and measure are carried out by irrational beings or are required of them. In Jeremiah, the moon is even called the queen of heaven (Jer. 7:18). So, if the stars are animate and intelligent, then, without a doubt, they also have some success and fall. Job’s words: “The stars are not pure before Him” (Job 25:5), I think, express precisely this thought. 4. If the luminaries are animate and intelligent beings, then the sequence of reasoning also requires consideration of the question of whether they were animate together with the creation of bodies, at a time when, according to the word of Scripture, “God created two great lights, the great light at the beginning of the day, and the lesser light at the beginning of the night, and the stars” (Gen. 1:16), or whether their souls were not created together with bodies, but God already put them from outside (into the luminaries) spirit after their bodies were created. I, for my part, assume that the spirit is inserted from the outside, but this assumption still needs to be proven from Holy Scripture, because on the basis of the evidence of Scripture it is confirmed in any case with greater difficulty than with the help of guesswork alone. And through guesswork this position can be proven as follows. If the human soul - which, like the soul of man, is of course lower - is not created along with bodies, but is universed from without, then all the more must this be said about the souls of living beings, called celestial. As for people, is it possible to think that, for example, the soul of the one who kicked his brother in the womb, that is, the soul of Jacob, was formed together with the body? (Gen. 25:22) Or - was the soul of one who, while still in his mother’s womb, filled with the Holy Spirit, created and formed together with the body? I mean John, who leapt in his mother’s womb and played with great admiration when the voice of Mary’s greeting reached the ears of Elizabeth his mother (Luke 1:41). Was the soul also created and formed together with the body of one who, even before his formation in the womb, was known to God and was sanctified by Him even before he came out of the womb? (Jer. 1:5) Of course, it is not without judgment and not without merit that God fills some people with the Holy Spirit, just as it is not without merit that He sanctifies. And, really, how can we avoid the voice that says: “Food is not right with God? It won’t happen!” or: “Does God really have partiality?” (Rom. 9:14) But precisely this conclusion follows from the position that affirms the existence of the soul together with the body. - So, as far as can be understood from a comparison with the human condition, I think that everything that the very reason and authority of Scripture seems to show regarding people, all this must be thought much more consistently about the heavenly (luminaries). 5. But let's see if we can find evidence in Holy Scripture about the heavenly beings themselves. The Apostle Paul gives such testimony, he says that “the creation is subject to futility, not by will, but because of him who obeyed it in hope: for the creation itself will be freed from the work of incorruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (Rom. 8:20–21). To what vanity, I ask, did creation submit, what creature, and why not voluntarily, and in what hope? And how will creation itself be freed from slavery to corruption? In another place the same apostle says: “For the creation longs for the revelation of the sons of God” (Ibid. v. 19), and also: not only we, but also “the whole creation sighs and sympathizes with us even to this day” (Ibid. v. 23). So we still need to investigate what kind of groaning this is and what kind of suffering is meant here? But first of all, let us see what the vanity to which the creature has submitted is. I think that this vanity is nothing more than bodies; for, although the body of the saints is ethereal, it is still material. That is why, it seems to me, Solomon calls every bodily nature as if in some way burdensome and retarding the power of spirits, he says: “Vanity of vanities, and all sorts of vanity,” says Ecclesiastes. All sorts of fuss. I saw all the creations that were made under the sun, and behold all vanity” (Ec. 1:1:14). It is precisely to this vanity that creation is subjugated, especially the creation that has in its power the greatest and highest authorities in this world, that is, the sun, moon and stars; these luminaries are subject to vanity, they are clothed with bodies and are appointed to shine on the human race. “To vanity,” he says, “the creation is not subject to will” (Rom. 8:20), in fact, the creation did not accept the destined service to vanity of its own free will, but due to the fact that He who subdued it wanted it - for the sake of the One who conquered, Who at the same time promised the creatures who were involuntarily subjugated to vanity, that after serving the great cause, when the time of redemption of the glory of the sons of God comes, they will be freed from slavery to decay and vanity. Having received this hope and hoping for the fulfillment of this promise, the whole creation now groans together, having, however, love for those whom it serves, and sympathizes with patience, awaiting the promised. Look now, to these beings, who were subjected to vanity, not voluntarily, but by the will of Him who conquered, and who are in hope of promises, - is it not possible to apply the following exclamation of Paul: “The desire to be resolved and to be with Christ is much better” (Phil. 1:23). At least, I think that the sun could say in a similar way: “I have a desire to be resolved or to return and be with Christ, for this is much better.” But Paul adds: “And to remain in the flesh is most necessary to eat for your sake” (Ibid. v. 24). And the sun, indeed, can say: “It is more necessary to remain in this heavenly and bright body for the sake of the revelation of the sons of God.” The same thing should be thought and said about the moon and the stars. Now let's see what freedom of the creature and freedom from slavery are. When Christ hands over the kingdom to God and the Father, then these animated beings, as having come before the kingdom of Christ, together with the entire kingdom will be transferred to the control of the Father. Then God will be “all in all”; but these beings belong to everything; therefore God will be in them, as in everything. Chapter eight. About Angels 1. We should, of course, think about angels in a similar way. One should not think that a well-known angel is accidentally entrusted with this or that position, for example, Raphael - the work of treatment and healing, Gabriel - overseeing wars, Michael - taking care of prayers and petitions on the part of mortals. It must be assumed that they were awarded these positions no other way than each one according to his own merits, and received them for the zeal and virtues they showed even before the creation of this world. Then, in the Arkhangelsk rank, everyone is assigned a position of one kind or another; others were honored to be numbered among the rank of angels and act under the command of one or another archangel, or what is the same - a leader or prince of their rank. All this, as I said, was established not by chance and indifferently, but according to the strictest and fairest judgment of God, and arranged in accordance with merit, according to the judgment and testing of God Himself. Thus, one angel was assigned to the church of Ephesus, another to Smyrna, one was assigned to be the angel of Peter, the other was the angel of Paul, then each of the little ones belonging to the church was given an angel - and these angels always see the face of God, there is also an angel who encamps around those who fear God. And all this is not done by chance and not because the angels were created this way by nature - this would lead to accusing the Creator of injustice - but is determined by the most righteous and impartial administrator of everything - God, in accordance with the merits and virtues and according to the strength and abilities of each. 2. Let us also say something about those who claim that spiritual beings are different (by nature), so that we do not fall into the absurd and impious fables of these people, who invent, both between heavenly beings and between human souls, different spiritual natures, supposedly created by different creators. In their opinion, it is absurd to attribute the different natures of rational creatures to one and the same Creator. And it really is ridiculous. But they incorrectly explain the reason for this difference. In fact, it is impossible, they say, to allow one and the same creator, without any reason hidden in merit, to give some the power of dominion, and subject others to the dominion of the first, to give authority to some, and to appoint others to be subordinate to those who have superior power. But all this, as I think, is completely refuted by the consideration stated above, that the reason for the difference and diversity in all creatures lies not in the injustice of the Manager, but in the more or less zealous or lazy movements of the creatures themselves, directed towards either virtue or malice. But in order to make it easier to recognize that this is exactly the case among celestial beings, we will give examples from past and present human deeds, in order to draw conclusions about the invisible based on what is visible. They (the proponents of the refuted opinion) no doubt agree that Paul or Peter were of a spiritual nature. But Paul acted against piety when he persecuted the Church of God, and Peter committed a very serious sin when, when asked by the servant of the gatekeeper, he renounced Christ with an oath. How did these, from their own point of view, clergy fall into such sins? - Moreover, they themselves usually often say and affirm that “a good tree cannot produce evil fruit” (Matthew 7:18). So, if a good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and Peter and Paul, in their own opinion, were from the root of a good tree, then how did they bear these fruits, the worst? True, they can answer what they usually invent in this case, namely, that it was not Paul who persecuted, but someone else - I don’t know who - who was in Paul, and it was not Peter who denied, but someone else in Peter. But why, one may ask, did Paul, having sinned in nothing, still say: “I am not worthy to be called an apostle, for I have persecuted the church of God?” (1 Cor. 15:9). Why did Peter also “mourn bitterly” for the sin of others? (Luke 22:62). This, of course, refutes all their absurdities. 3. In our opinion, there is no rational creature that would not be capable of both good and evil. However, when we say that every being can accept evil, we do not thereby affirm that every being has actually accepted evil, that is, has become evil. We can say that every person can learn to sail on a ship, but this will not mean that every person actually sails on a ship, or that every person can learn grammatical or medical art, but this does not mean that every person is already a doctor or a grammarian. That is why, if we say that every being can accept evil, this does not mean that every being has already accepted evil. In our opinion, even the devil was not incapable of good. But if he could accept good, this does not mean that he actually desired it and brought the ability (to good) to fruition. According to the above testimonies from the prophets, he was once good, precisely at the time when he was converted in the paradise of God among the cherubim. But since he, of course, had the ability to perceive either virtue or evil, then due to this he deviated from virtue and turned to evil with all his mind. In the same way, other creatures, due to the fact that they have the ability to do both (that is, both good and evil), thanks to freedom of will, avoid evil and cleave to good. In a word, there is not a single creature that does not perceive good or evil. The only exception is the nature of God, this source of all good things, and the nature of Christ, for Christ is Wisdom, and wisdom cannot accept stupidity, Christ is truth, and truth, of course, will never accept untruth, He is the Word, or reason, which, of course, cannot become unreasonable. Christ is also light, but darkness, as we know, does not embrace light. In like manner, the holy nature of the Holy Spirit cannot be defiled, for it is holy by nature or substance. If any other being is holy, then it has this holiness through assimilation or inspiration from the Holy Spirit; it does not possess it by nature, but as an accidental property, which, as accidental, can cease. In the same way, anyone can have righteousness, but only accidental, which can cease. You can have wisdom, but also random wisdom. However, it is also within our power to establish ourselves in wisdom, of course, under the condition that, with our diligence and fruitful life, we exercise wisdom. And if we always maintain (in ourselves) diligence, we will always be participants in wisdom, then our very participation in it will be either greater or lesser, depending on the dignity of life or the degree of diligence. After all, the goodness of God, in accordance with the requirements of its dignity, calls and attracts everything to that blessed end when all suffering, sorrow and groaning will cease and run away. 4. So, the previous discussion, it seems to me, has sufficiently shown that the principalities have superiors, and each of the other ranks receives his position not indifferently or by chance, but that they have achieved the degree of this dignity through their merits; only we cannot know or ask what exactly those actions were for which they were honored to enter this rank. In this case, it is enough for us only to know that God is righteous and just, since, according to the Apostle Paul, God has no partiality (Col. 3:25), and that He, on the contrary, will arrange everything according to the merits and success of everyone. So, the office of angels is given only according to merit; authorities have power only for their success; the so-called thrones, that is, the heads of the court and administration, carry out this work only for their merits; dominations also dominate not in spite of merit. In a word, all this is, as it were, one highest and most glorious heavenly rank of rational creation, which is located in accordance with the glorious variety of positions. – In a similar way, you need to think about opposing forces, of course. Having received the place and position of rulers, or powers, or rulers of the darkness of the world, or spirits of lasciviousness, or spirits of malice, or unclean demons, they all have these positions not substantially and not because they were created such; on the contrary, they received all these degrees of malice because of their motives and the success they achieved in crime. There is also another order of rational creatures, which has already given itself over to evil so much that it rather does not want than cannot be restored 2: the fury of its atrocities has turned into lust, which it delights in. The third rank of rational creation consists of creatures appointed by God to replenish the human race - these are the souls of people who, due to their improvement, are accepted even into the above-mentioned rank of angels. And indeed, some of them are taken into this rank - these are those who became the Sons of God, or the Sons of the resurrection, or those who left darkness and loved the light, and became the Sons of Light, or those who overcame all warfare and, having pacified themselves, became the Sons of the world, and the Sons of God, or those who, having mortified their earthly members and risen not only above the bodily nature, but even above the perverse and through the fleeting movements of their soul, they united with the Lord and became pure in spirit, so that they could always be one in spirit with Him and cognize everything with Him. One day they will reach such a state that they will become completely spiritual, and, having been enlightened in their minds through the Word and Wisdom of God in all holiness, they will judge everything, but they themselves will not be judged by anyone. But we think that in no case can we accept what some claim in their excessive inquisitiveness, namely, that souls reach such a decline that, forgetting about their rational nature and dignity, they are cast down even into the state of unreasonable animals or beasts, or cattle. In support of this opinion they usually cite even false evidence from Scripture. Thus, they point out that the cattle with which a woman was killed against nature are considered criminal equally with the woman; and by law must be stoned along with the woman; that a gory bull, by law, must also be stoned; that Balaam’s donkey spoke when God opened her mouth, and the wordless under-the-yoke denounced the madness of the prophet with a human voice. We not only do not accept all this evidence, but we also reject and sweep away these very opinions, which are contrary to our faith. However, despite the fact that we have rejected and rejected this perverse opinion, in its place and in its time we will nevertheless set forth how the evidence of Scripture cited by them should be understood 3 . 1. Although all the discussions presented in the previous book concerned the question of the world and its structure, now, it seems to me, it is worth repeating something about this very world itself, namely: about the beginning and the end of it, about what Divine Providence does between the beginning and the end of it, as well as about what happened before the world and what will happen after it. – First of all, it is obvious that the world is very varied and varied and consists not only of rational and divine beings and of various bodies, but also of dumb living beings, such as beasts, animals, livestock, birds and all (creatures) living in the waters; that then, the composition of the world also includes various spaces, such as heaven and heavens, earth and water; that the middle air, otherwise called ether, also belongs to it, and, in addition, everything that occurs or is born from the earth. So, if the diversity of the world is so great, and at the same time in the most intelligent beings there is such a diversity, thanks to which, one must think, all other diversity and variety exists, then, one asks, what reason for the origin of the world will need to be indicated, especially if we pay attention to the end through which, as shown in the first book, everything will be restored to its original state? In fact, since this last (assumption) is accepted, then what other reason, we repeat, can we come up with for such a diversity of the world, if not the difference and variety of movements and falls of creatures that have fallen away from that original unity and harmony in which they were created by God? Indeed, was it not the reason for the diversity of the world that beings, having become indignant and deviated from the original state of bliss and being excited by various spiritual movements and desires, transformed the single and indivisible good of their nature into various spiritual qualities in accordance with the differences in their intentions? 2. But God, by the ineffable art of His Wisdom, turns everything that happens in the world to the common benefit and directs it to the general prosperity of all (being); those very creatures that have become so separated from each other due to the diversity of souls, He brings about some agreement in activity and desires, so that they, although with different movements of their souls, still work for the completeness and perfection of a single world and so that the very diversity of minds serves to achieve one common goal of perfection. A single force binds and contains all the diversity of the world and forms one whole from various movements; otherwise such a great world cause would fall apart due to disagreements of souls. And therefore we think that the Father of all, God, for the good of all His creatures, so governs these various beings by the ineffable intelligence of His Word and Wisdom, that all individual spirits or souls - in a word, all rational substances, whatever we call them - are not forced by force to do, contrary to their freedom, that which is not in accordance with their own impulses - and thus the ability to freely will. Otherwise, of course, the very quality of their nature would have been changed. At the same time, the various movements of their will (propositi) are skillfully directed towards the harmony and benefit of a single world; Thus, some creatures need help, others can help, others initiate battles and competitions against those who are successful - and all this so that in the struggle the zeal of these latter is better revealed, and after victory the condition acquired by them through difficulties and suffering is more reliably preserved. 3. So, although there are different positions in the world, there should not be any discord or disorder in it. Just as our body, being one, is composed of many members and is supported by one soul, so, I think, the whole world should be considered as if it were some immense and huge animal, which is supported, as it were, by one soul, by the power and mind of God. I think that this is exactly what the Holy Scripture points to when, in the words of the prophet, it says: “I will not fill the heavens and the earth with food, says the Lord” (Jer. 23:24), and also in another place: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool” (Isaiah 66:1). The Savior, of course, expressed the same thing when he said that one should not swear “neither by heaven, for God’s throne is, nor by earth, for His footstool” (Matthew 5:34–35), and the apostle. Paul, when he preached to the Athenians, saying that “in Him we live, and we move, and we are” (Acts 17:28). In what sense, one might ask, do we live and move and exist in Him, if not in the fact that He embraces and contains with His power the whole world? Further, why, according to the words of the Savior Himself, is heaven the throne of God and the earth His footstool, if not precisely because His power fills everything both in heaven and on earth, as the Lord says about this? So, based on what has been shown, I think everyone will easily agree that it is in this sense that the Father of all, God, fills and contains the fullness of power of the whole world. But since the previous reasoning showed that the reason for the diversity in this world was the different movements of intelligent creatures and their different intentions, then we need to consider whether this world is also facing an end similar to such a beginning? And indeed, there is no doubt that at the end of this world there will be great diversity and difference, and this diversity, which we believe at the end of this world, will serve as the cause and reason for new differences in another world that will come after this world. 4. If this is so, then now, it seems, we should also reveal the doctrine of corporeal nature, because the diversity of the world cannot exist without bodies. From observation of things themselves it is clear that bodily nature undergoes various and varied changes, so that from everything it can turn into everything; so, for example, wood turns into fire, fire into smoke, smoke into air, and oily liquid into fire. And doesn’t the food of both humans and animals represent similar changes? After all, every nutrient we take in turns into the substance of our body. At the same time, it would not be difficult to explain exactly how water changes into earth or air, and air, in turn, into fire or fire into air or air into water. But in the present place it is enough only to remind about all this to those who want to talk about the nature of corporeal matter. Here we mean the matter that underlies bodies, precisely that from which, with the addition of qualities to it, bodies are composed. There are four qualities: warmth, cold, dryness, moisture. These four qualities embedded in úlh, that is, in matter - since matter itself does not have these qualities mentioned above - and form different types of bodies. But although matter itself is without quality, as we said above, it never exists without any quality. This matter is such and there is so much of it that its quantity is sufficient for all the bodies of the world to which God wanted to give existence; she obeys and serves the Creator for the formation of all forms and types, since she takes into herself the qualities that God pleases to give her. About this matter, some even great men - I just don’t know why - thought that it was not created by God Himself, the Creator of everything, but, in their words, constitutes some random nature and force. And I wonder how exactly these people can blame everyone who denies either the Creator God or the Providence of this universe, precisely because they allegedly express an impious opinion when they believe that such a great cause of the world exists apart from the Creator or Provider? After all, they themselves, recognizing matter as unproduced and co-eternal with the unbegotten God, fall into similar wickedness. Indeed, if from their point of view we assume, for example, that there was no matter - as they themselves assert when they say that God could not create anything when nothing yet existed - then it means that God must have remained idle then. After all, He did not have matter from which He could produce - that very matter that, as they think, appeared not by His Providence, but by chance. At the same time, it seems to them that even what happened by chance could have been enough for God for such a huge task, and that everything that, perceiving the mind of all His wisdom, was located and arranged in the world, (could have been enough) for the power of His power. But such an opinion seems impious to me; it, I think, is inherent in people who completely reject force and even reason in the unborn nature. And so that we can see the essence of the matter more clearly, let us assume, at least for a short time, that there was no matter and that God, at that moment when nothing yet existed, brought into existence what he wanted. What are we going to think? What kind of matter would God have then created that matter that He produced (according to the assumption) by His power and wisdom, so that there could exist something that did not exist before: better and higher, or of some other kind, or lower and worse, or similar and completely the same as (the matter) which they call unproduced (ingenitara)? I think everyone will very easily understand that the forms and types of this world could not be taken by either the best or the worst matter, but only the kind that took them. So, would it not be wicked to call something that did not happen, which, being created by God, turns out, without a doubt, to be the same as what did not happen (ingenitum)? 5. But in order to believe this also on the basis of the authority of Scripture, listen to how this dogma is affirmed in the books of the Maccabees, where the mother of the seven martyrs convinces one of her sons to endure torment, she says: “I pray to you, child, that you may look at heaven and earth and everything that is in them, and see that God has created these things that are not” (2 Mac. 7:28) and in the book “Shepherd”, in the first commandment, says this: “First of all, believe that there is one God, who created and ordered everything, and brought everything into existence from nothingness.” Perhaps the words of the psalm also apply here: “He commanded and was created” (Psalm 149:5), for the words: “He spoke and came” seem to indicate the substance of everything that exists; the words: “He commanded it, and it was created” apparently indicate the qualities through which this substance is given different forms. Chapter two. On the Continuous Existence of Corporeal Nature 1. At this point (of the teaching), some usually ask: is it possible to assume between rational beings and corporeal matter some kind of union and intimacy, similar to how the Father gives birth to the unborn Son and gives birth to the Holy Spirit - not, of course, in the sense that (the Son and the Spirit) did not previously exist, but (in the sense) that the Father is the beginning and source of the Son and the Holy Spirit and that nothing preceding or subsequent can be thought of in Them. In order to explore this subject more fully and thoroughly, as the starting point of their reasoning, they usually pose the following question: will this very corporeal nature, which bears life and contains the movements of spiritual and rational beings, eternally exist together with them or, upon separation (from them), will it be destroyed and perish? In order to be able to understand this more separately, it seems first of all to ask whether it is possible for rational beings, after achieving the highest degree of holiness and bliss, to remain completely incorporeal - and this seems to me very unlikely and almost impossible - or must they always be connected with bodies? If anyone could indicate the reason why it is possible for them to exist completely without bodies, then, of course, the conclusion would have to be drawn that corporeal nature, created out of nothing for a certain length of time, as soon as the use of its services ceases, will cease to exist in the same way as it did not exist before its creation. 2. If, however, it is in no way possible to prove this, that is, that any other being, except the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, can live outside the body, then consistency and reason necessarily force us to recognize the idea that rational beings were originally created (principialiter), while material substance is only separated from them in imagination and in thought and only seems to have been created either before or after them; in fact, rational beings have never lived and do not live without it (bodily nature), for living an incorporeal life is characteristic, of course, only of the Trinity. As we said above, this material substance of this world has a nature capable of all kinds of transformations. When it is attracted to lower beings, it forms more or less coarse and dense bodies, and thus distinguishes (all) these visible and diverse kinds (of beings) of the world. When she serves more perfect and blessed beings, she shines with the radiance of the heavenly bodies and adorns the robes of the spiritual body with either the angels of God or the sons of the resurrection. From all these (bodies) a varied and varied state of the one world will be composed. But if you want to discuss this more fully, then it will be necessary to examine even more carefully and carefully, with all the fear of God and reverence, the Divine Scriptures and see if the secret and hidden meaning (of these Scriptures) can tell something about these subjects, whether it is not possible, having collected more evidence about this very subject, to find something on this issue in the mysterious and hidden sayings that the Holy Spirit explains only to worthy people. Chapter three. About the beginning of the world and its causes 1. After this, it remains for us to investigate whether there was another world before this world that now exists; and if there was, then was it the same as the present world, or was it somewhat different from it, or was it lower than it - or was there no world at all, but there was something similar to how we imagine the future universal end, when the kingdom will be handed over to God and the Father? Of course, that other world had the same end, after which this world began to exist, but the varied fall of intelligent beings prompted God to create this diverse and diverse world 4 . 2. But in order to make it clearer whether corporeal matter exists only for certain periods of time, and whether it will again resolve itself into nothing in the same way as it did not exist before, we will first look at whether anyone can live without a body. After all, if someone can live without a body, then everyone can exist without a body, especially since the previous reasoning showed that everything is directed towards one end. If all beings can be without bodies, then without a doubt, corporeal substance will not exist when there is no need for it. – But how do we understand the words of the apostle in the place where he discusses the resurrection of the dead, saying: “It is fitting for this corruptible to put on incorruptibility, and for this dead one to put on immortality. When this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then the word will be written: Death was sacrificed in victory. Where are you, O death, your victory? Your sting was quickly consumed, death. “The sting of death is sin; but the power of sin is the law” (1 Cor. 15:53–56). Apparently, the apostle expresses such a thought here. The words “this corruptible and this mortal,” spoken as if with special emphasis and expression, are, of course, applicable to nothing other than bodily matter. So, this matter of the body, now corruptible, will be clothed with incorruptibility when a perfect soul, instructed in the dogmas of incorruptibility, begins to use it. And do not be surprised if, for the sake of the Word of God and the Wisdom of God, now called incorruptibility, we call it, as it were, the clothing of the body, because the Lord Himself and Creator of the soul, Jesus Christ, is called the clothing of the saints, as the Apostle says: “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 13:14). Consequently, just as Christ is the garment of the soul, so the soul, in a certain spiritual sense, is called the clothing of the body, for it is its adornment, covering and clothing the dead nature. So this is the meaning of the words: “It is fitting for this corruptible to put on incorruptibility.” The Apostle seems to be saying that this corruptible nature of the body must necessarily receive the clothing of incorruptibility - a soul that has incorruptibility in itself because, of course, it is clothed in Christ, Who is the Wisdom and Word of God. But when this body, which we will once have more glorious, begins to participate in life, then incorruptibility will also be added to its immortality. In fact, if something is mortal, then it is at the same time perishable, but not vice versa: - something perishable cannot be called mortal at the same time. For example, we call a stone or a tree perishable, but we do not call them mortal. The body, in view of the fact that it participates in life, and life can be separated and (indeed) is separated from it, we, as a result of all this, call it mortal, but according to a different understanding we also say that it is perishable. That is why the holy Apostle, referring to the original bodily matter (ad generalem primam causam) in general - that matter which the soul always uses, regardless of what quality it is united with, whether it is carnal, as it is now, or with the subtlest and purest, so-called spiritual quality, as it will be later - (the Apostle) with amazing understanding says: “It is fitting for this corruptible to put on incorruptibility.” , then, referring in particular to the body (ad specialem causam), he says “it is fitting for this deathly thing to be clothed with immortality.” Incorruptibility and immortality are nothing else but the wisdom, the Word, and the truth of God, forming, clothing and beautifying the soul. And so this is the meaning of the saying: “The corruptible will put on incorruptibility, and the mortal – immortality.” However, now, even though we have achieved significant prosperity, this corruptible does not put on incorruptibility, and the mortal does not put on immortality, because we know only in part and prophesy in part, and even what we apparently know, we still see only “in a mirror in divination” (1 Cor. 13:12). And since this teaching of ours in the body continues, no doubt, for a very long time, precisely until our very bodies, with which we are surrounded, must still deserve incorruptibility and immortality, thanks to the Word of God, and Wisdom, and perfect truth, that is why it is said: “It is fitting for this corruptible to put on incorruptibility, and for this dead thing to put on immortality.” 3. However, those who admit the possibility of incorporeal life for intelligent creatures can present such considerations. If this corruptible is clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal is clothed with immortality, and death is finally swallowed up, does this not mean that material nature must be destroyed, in which death could perform certain actions only as long as the sharpness of mind of those in the body was apparently dulled by the nature of corporeal matter. (According to these men), as soon as (beings) are outside the body, then they will already escape the severity of such indignation. But since they are still not able to suddenly get rid of all bodily clothing, then, in their opinion, at first they will abide (immorari) in the subtlest and purest bodies, which can no longer be defeated by death and wounded by its sting. Thus, with the gradual abolition of bodily nature, death will finally seem to be absorbed and even completely destroyed, and every sting of it will be completely dulled by divine grace, to (perception) of which the soul has become capable, thereby deserving to receive incorruptibility and immortality. And then, in their opinion, everyone, in fairness, will say: “Where is victory, death? Where is the sting, death? The sting of death is sin." And since all this seems consistent, then we can also believe that our state will once be incorporeal. If this is so and if everyone must submit to Christ, then the incorporeal state must necessarily apply to everyone to whom Christ’s submission extends; for all who are subjugated to Christ, in the end, will also be subjugated to God the Father, to whom, as it is said, Christ will hand over the kingdom, and, moreover, apparently, in such a way that then the use of bodies will cease. And as soon as (the use of the body) ceases, then the body returns to nothing, just as it was not there before. But let’s see what can be objected to those who claim this. If the corporeal nature is destroyed, it seems that it will have to be restored again and created a second time. After all, it is possible that rational beings, from whom the ability of free will is never taken away, will again be subject to some kind of disturbance, and God, for his part, will allow this for the purpose that they, while maintaining their state always motionless, will not forget that they achieved this final bliss not by their own strength, but by the grace of God. And these disturbances will, without a doubt, be followed again by that difference and diversity of bodies with which the world is always adorned, because the world cannot consist otherwise than of difference and diversity; but this (diversity) can in no way be realized apart from corporeal matter. 4. As for those who assert complete similarity and equality of worlds with each other, I do not know what evidence they can confirm this (assumption). After all, if the (future) world is in everything similar to the (present), then it means that in that world Adam or Eve will do the same thing that they have already done; This means that there will be the same flood again, and the same Moses will again lead a people of almost six hundred thousand out of Egypt, Judas will also betray the Lord for the second time, Paul will keep the clothes of those who stoned Stephen for the second time - and everything that happened in this life will happen again. But I do not think that this can be confirmed by any argument, since it is true that souls are governed by free will and bring about both their improvement and their downfall by the power of their will. Indeed, in their actions and desires, souls are not controlled by any (external) movement (cursu), which again returns to the same circles after many centuries, on the contrary, the souls (themselves) direct the movement of their actions where the freedom of their own mind (ingenii) inclines. What these same men say is as if someone were to assert that if a measure of bread is scattered on the ground, then it may happen that the second time the fall of the grains will be the same and absolutely identical (with their fall the first time), so that each individual grain, having spilled out the second time, can lie next to the same grain, next to which it was once the first time, and that the whole measure can scatter in the same order the second time and form the same figures as the first time. With countless grains of measure (bread), this, of course, absolutely cannot happen, even if it were scattered incessantly and continuously for many centuries. In the same way, in my opinion, it is impossible that the world should be restored a second time in the same order, with the same births, deaths and actions. Worlds can only exist different, with significant changes, so that the state of one world, due to some known reasons, is better, the state of another world, for other reasons, is worse, and the state of the third world, for other reasons, turns out to be average. But what exactly is the number and state (of the worlds) - this, I confess, I do not know, and if someone could show it, I would willingly learn it. 5. However, it is said that this world, which itself is called an age, serves as the end of many centuries. The Holy Apostle teaches that Christ did not suffer either in the previous century, or in the one that came before this last one, and I don’t even know if it is possible to count how many previous centuries there were in which Christ did not suffer. In what exact sayings of Paul I found the reason for such a thought, I will now indicate. He says: “Now He became one to the end of the ages, to sweep away sin, by His sacrifice” (Heb. 9:26). Once, he says, he made a sacrifice and at the end of the centuries appeared to destroy sin. And that after this age, which, they say, was created at the completion of other centuries, there will be other subsequent centuries, the same Paul clearly teaches about this, in the words: “That in those who are to come he will show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness to us (in Christ Jesus)” (Eph. 2:7). He did not say “in the age to come” or “in the two ages to come”; That is why I think that the evidence of this saying points to many centuries. If there is something greater than centuries, then in this way centuries should be thought only in application to creatures, and in application to that which surpasses and exceeds visible creatures (which will, of course, be the case with the restoration of everything, when the entire universe reaches a perfect end), perhaps one should think of something more than an age, which will be the completion of everything. The authority of Scripture prompts me to think this way, which says: “forever and ever” (Ex. 15:18). The word "and yet" indicates, without a doubt, something more than a century. Pay attention to the words of the Savior: “I will, that where I am, they also may be with Me: that they may be one (in Us), just as We are one” (John 17:24:22). Don’t these words also point to something greater than centuries and centuries—perhaps greater than centuries of centuries, precisely to that (state) when everything will no longer exist in centuries, but God will be in everything? 6. After these feasible discussions about the world, it seems not superfluous to also consider what the very name of the world means. This name is often found in the Holy Scriptures with different meanings, because the Latin mundus corresponds to the Greek kósmo_s; kósmo_s means not only peace, but also decoration. Thus, in the book of the prophet Isaiah, where an accusatory speech is directed to the noble daughters of Zion, it is said: “instead of adorning the gold on your head, you will have baldness for the sake of your works” (Isaiah 3:23), and decoration here is denoted by the same word as the world, i.e. kósmo_s. It is also said that on the robe of the high priest the thought of the whole world (mundi ratio contineri) is expressed, as we find in the Wisdom of Solomon: “in the robe he swallowed up the whole world” (Wis. 18:24. Even this universe of ours with its inhabitants is called the world, as the Scripture says: “The whole world lies in evil” (1 John 5:19. Clement, the apostolic disciple, also mentions those whom the Greeks called antixfona_s, and other parts of the universe where none of us can have access, and from where no one can cross to us, and he calls these very countries worlds when he says: “The ocean is impassable for people, but the worlds located beyond the ocean are governed by the same orders of the Lord God.” This universe, consisting of heaven and earth, is also called the world, as Paul says: “The image of this World is passing away” (1 Cor. 7:31). Our Lord and Savior, in addition to this visible world, also indicates some other world, which is difficult to describe and depict. He says: “I am not of this world” (John 17:15). Being as if from some other world, He says that “I am not from this World.” We said that the image of this world is difficult for us, so as not to give anyone a reason to think that we recognize the existence of some images that the Greeks call idea_s. We are completely alien to recognizing an incorporeal world that exists only in the imagination of the mind and in the play of ideas, and I do not understand how it can be asserted that the Savior is from this world or that the saints will go there. However, what the Savior calls and convinces believers to strive for is undoubtedly, according to His image, more glorious and brilliant than this real world. But will that world, implied by the Savior, be separate from this world and removed from it at a great distance both in place, and in quality, and in glory; or, although it will surpass (this world) in glory and quality, it will nevertheless be contained within the boundaries of this world - this is unknown and, in my opinion, is not yet accessible to human thought and mind, although the latter assumption seems to me more probable. However, Clement, speaking about the ocean and the worlds located behind it, calls the worlds in the plural and claims that these worlds are governed by the same Providence - the Highest God; Apparently, these words contain the germ of the idea that the entire universe, consisting of the heavenly, the above-heavenly, the earthly and the underworld, is called a single and perfect world, while the remaining worlds (if they exist) are contained within this world or this world. Therefore, as is known, the sphere of the moon or the sun, or other so-called worlds, is called worlds. planets separately; also called the world, in particular the highest sphere called aplanh'. Finally, as evidence in favor of this statement, they even refer to the book of the prophet Baruch, which clearly speaks of seven worlds, or heavens. But above the so-called sphere aplanh', they say, there is another sphere, which, with its enormous size and inexpressible vastness, with its majestic circumference embraces the spaces of all spheres, just as our sky contains the entire celestial realm; Thus, according to this idea, everything is within that sphere, just as this earth of ours is under the sky. They think that this particular sphere is called in the Holy Scriptures the good land and the land of the living; it has its own highest heaven, on which, according to the word of the Savior, the names of saints are written or written; This sky contains and encloses the earth that the Savior in the Gospel promises to the meek and humble. From the name of that land, they say, this land of ours, formerly called dry land, received its name, just as this firmament is called heaven after the name of that sky. But regarding opinions of this kind we have discussed more fully elsewhere, when we examined the meaning of the words that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1), since Scripture indicates that there is another heaven and another earth, besides the firmament, which was created, as it is said, after two days, and besides the dry land, which was later called earth. – Some say about this world that it is perishable, since it was created; and that it is not destroyed, however, because stronger and stronger than corruption is the will of God, who created the world and preserves it from the dominion of corruption. But they can with great right think this in application to the world that we called earlier the sphere - aplanh', because, according to the will of God, it is not subject to corruption, since it cannot even accept the conditions of corruption: this is the world of the saints and those who have achieved the highest purity (ad liquidum purification), and not the world of the wicked, like ours (world). It is necessary to consider whether this is what the apostle meant when he said: “We do not see things that are visible, but things that are invisible: for what is visible is temporary, but what is invisible is eternal. We know that even if our earthly church (body) is destroyed, a creation from God, imams, a church not made by hands, will be eternal in heaven” (2 Cor. 4:18: 5:1). Indeed, elsewhere Scripture says: “I will see the heavens, the works of Your finger” (Psalm. 8:4), and about everything invisible, God said through the prophet: “My hand has done all this” (Is. 66:2), meanwhile, the eternal dwelling, which (the apostle) promises to the saints in heaven, he calls not made with hands. By this (the apostle), without a doubt, he shows that creation is divided into visible and invisible. What we do not see and what is invisible are not the same thing. The invisible is not only not seen, but by nature cannot be visible; the Greeks call it adw'mata, that is, incorporeal; the same thing about which Paul said: “what is not seen” (2 Cor. 4:18) - this by nature can be visible, and is only not yet accessible to the sight of those to whom this sight is promised. 7. Having outlined these three opinions about the end of all things and about the highest happiness, we leave it to each reader to carefully and minutely discuss whether any of them can be chosen or approved. And these opinions, we repeat, are as follows. Or will rational beings lead an incorporeal life after everything has been subjugated to Christ and through Christ to God the Father, when God will be all and in all. Or after the subjection of everything to Christ and through Christ to God, with whom rational creatures, as spiritual by nature, will form one spirit, the most corporeal substance, united with the best and purest spirits, in accordance with their quality and merits, will pass (transmutata) into an ethereal state and shine, according to the word of the Apostle: “And we will be changed” (1 Cor. 15:52). Or the form of the visible will pass away, all corruption will be destroyed and purified, and this entire state of the world, with its planetary spheres, will end and cease to exist, on top of the sphere called aplanh'_s, the residence of the pious and blessed will be located, as it were, on the good earth and on the land of the living, which the meek and humble will receive as an inheritance; next to this earth there will be a sky, with its majestic circle embracing and containing the earth itself - that sky which is truly and truly called heaven. This heaven and earth will serve as the safest and surest abode of all rational beings in their final and perfect state; it is precisely some creatures that will deserve to dwell in that land, after the correction and punishment that they endure for sins, for cleansing from them, and after fulfilling and paying everything; other creatures, who were obedient to the word of God and who have already here learned to perceive the wisdom of God and obey it, will be rewarded, they say, with the kingdom of heaven or the heavens. And so the words “blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth”, and “blessed are the poor in spirit, for these are the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:5: 3), and the words of the psalm “he will exalt you, who will inherit the earth” (Psalm 34), - for to this earth, as they say, they descend, and to that above, they ascend. Thus, by the success of the saints, a certain path from that earth to that heaven is, as it were, opened, so that on that earth they (the saints), apparently, do not so much abide (permanere) as they reside temporarily (habitare), so that later, upon reaching the due degree of perfection, they can inherit the kingdom of heaven. Chapter Four. That there is one God of the law and the prophets and the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ 1. Having set this out in order and as briefly as possible, further, as was suggested from the very beginning, we must refute those who think that the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is another God, and not the One who gave the messages of the law (responsa legis) to Moses or sent the prophets, and who is the God of the fathers: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, in this truth of faith we need to be established first of all. - So, we should pay attention to a saying often found in the Gospels, which is added to some individual Acts of our Lord and Savior, namely the saying: “Let what was spoken through the prophet” be fulfilled. Of course, it is clear that the prophets are from the God who created the world. Hence, the very consistency requires the conclusion that it was he who sent the prophets who also predicted about Christ what needed to be predicted (about Him). And there is no doubt that these (prophecies) about Christ were proclaimed not by someone alien to Christ, but by His Father Himself. And the fact that the Savior and His apostles often cite evidence from the Old Testament also proves that the Savior and His disciples attached importance to the ancient (testimonies). The Savior, calling his disciples to love, says: “Be ye perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect, as his sun shines on the evil and on the good, and rains on the righteous and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:48:45). These words clearly convey to even the least intelligent person the idea that the Savior offers His disciples for imitation not any other God, but precisely the creator of the sky and the giver of rain. The Savior also teaches that when praying, one must say: “Our Father, who art in heaven” (Matthew 6:9), and this shows, of course, nothing more than that God should be sought in the best parts of the world, that is, His creation. Determining the best rules regarding swearing, He says: “You must not swear by heaven, for the throne is God, or by earth, for His footstool” (Matt. 5:34–35); But isn’t it obvious that this saying completely agrees with the prophetic words: “Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool” (Isaiah 66:1). Driving out the sellers of sheep, bulls and doves from the church and overturning the tables of the money changers, the Savior said: “Take this from here, and do not make my Father’s house buy (bought)” (John 2:16). Without a doubt, the Savior called Him His Father, in whose name Solomon built the magnificent church. The Savior also said (about the resurrection of the dead): “Have you carried what God said to Moses: I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. God is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living" (Matthew 22:31–32). These words teach us in the clearest way that the God of the patriarchs, precisely the One who spoke through the prophets (in prophetae): “I am the Lord God, and am I not yet God” (Isa. 45:5), the Savior called the God of the living, since the patriarchs were holy and alive. Of course, the Savior knew that the God of Abraham is the One about whom it is written in the law - the One Who says that “I am the Lord God, and am I not yet God.” And if the Savior confesses as (His) Father that God who does not know that there is another God above Him, as heretics admit, then He is mistaken in proclaiming as Father the One who does not know the Most High God. If (this God) knows, but deceives, saying that there is no other God but Him, then the Savior is even more deceived, confessing (His) Father a liar. From all this follows the idea that the Savior knows no other Father than God, the Creator and Creator of everything. 2. It will take a long time if we collect evidence from all the places in the Gospels where the doctrine of the identity of the God of the law and the Gospels is expressed. However, we will briefly touch upon the testimony of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts chapter 7), where Stephen and the apostles turn their prayers to God, who created heaven and earth and spoke through the mouth of His holy prophets, and at the same time call Him the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God who brought His people out of the land of Egypt. These sayings, without a doubt, most obviously direct our thoughts to faith in the Creator and inspire love for Him in those who accepted this teaching about Him with piety and faith. And the Savior Himself, when they asked Him which commandment was the greatest of all in the law, answered, saying: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind; the second is similar to it: you shall love your sincere as yourself,” and to this he added: “In this both commandments hang the whole law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:37–40). How, one may ask, does the Savior, to the man whom He taught and tried to make His disciple, before all the commandments, point to that commandment by which love, without a doubt, is aroused for the God of the law? After all, it was the law that preached the same teaching and with the same words. Of course, despite all this most obvious evidence, it can be assumed that the words: “thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,” and so on. – The Savior could have spoken about something else, I just don’t know which one, God (and not about the Creator). But if the law and the prophets, as they say, belong to the Creator, that is, to another God, and not to the one whom the Savior calls good, then how can one reconcile with this situation the saying that the Savior added to His words, namely, that on these two commandments the law and the prophets are established? How can something alien and external to God be established on God? Yes, and Paul, when he says: “I thank my God, whom I serve from my ancestors with a clear conscience” (Acts 23:1; 24:14. 16), clearly shows that he passed not to some new God, but to Christ. For what other ancestors of Paul should be understood here, if not those about whom he himself says: “Are they Jews? And az. Is Israel the point? And I" (2 Cor. 11:22). Also, doesn’t the preface to his letter to the Romans clearly show to all those who know how to understand Paul’s writings what kind of God Paul preaches? He says: “Paul, the servant of Jesus Christ, is called an apostle, chosen to preach the good news of God, having first promised by His prophets in the Holy Scriptures concerning His Son, who was of the Seed of David according to the flesh, called the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, from the resurrection of the dead, Jesus Christ Our Lord” (Rom. 1:1-4), etc. He also says: “Yes.” do not block the walls of the threshing ox. Food for God's sake? Or does he say all sorts of things for our sake? (1 Cor. 9:9–10 “For for our sake it was written, for we must shout for hope, and pray with the hope of our hope to receive communion” (1 Cor. 9:9–10). And in these words the apostle clearly shows that it is the God who gave the law, He says for our sake, that is, for the sake of the apostles: “Do not block the walls of the threshing ox,” because He was not concerned about the oxen, but about the apostles who preached the Gospel of Christ. Elsewhere, imbued with respect for the promise of the law, the same Paul says: “Honor your father and mother: which is the first commandment in the promise: that it may be good for you, and that you may live long in the earth, in the blessing which the Lord your God gives you” (Eph. 6:2-3; Exod. 20:12). Here the apostle, no doubt, declares that he loves the law, and the God of the law, and His promises. 3. But since the followers of this heresy usually seduce the hearts of simple believers with some deceptive sophisms, then, I think, it is not superfluous, having presented their deception and lies, to refute what they usually cite in their proofs. They say: it is written: “No one has seen God anywhere” (John 1:18). The God preached by Moses was seen by Moses himself and the fathers who preceded him, but the God proclaimed by the Savior was seen by absolutely no one. But let us ask them and ourselves: do they recognize the one whom they profess to be God, visible or invisible, in contrast to God the creator? – If they say that God is visible, then they will go against the teaching of Scripture, which testifies about the Savior that He is “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation” (1 Cor. 1:15), and, in addition, they will come to the absurd doctrine of the corporeality of God. Indeed, an object can be visible only both through shape, size, and color, which constitute the distinctive properties of bodies. But if God, according to their teaching, is a body, then it means that He consists of matter, since every body consists of matter. If He consists of matter, and matter is undoubtedly perishable, then God will then be subject to corruption. Let us also ask them: is matter created, or uncreated, that is, not created? If they say that matter is not created, that is, unborn, then they will have to admit that God constitutes one part of (this) matter, and the world another part (of it). If they answer that matter was created, then, without a doubt, the conclusion will be that they confess the One Who is called God to be created, and this, of course, neither their nor our reason allows. But they will say: God is invisible. But what will you do then? If you say that He is invisible by nature, then He must be invisible to the Savior. Meanwhile, it is said that God, the Father of Christ, is visible, because “seeing” says, “I am seen by the Father” (John 14:9). Of course, this makes it very difficult for you; but we understand this not in the sense of vision, but in the sense of knowledge: for he who knows the Son also knows the Father. In the same way, you need to think, and Moses saw God: He did not contemplate Him with his bodily eyes, but knew Him with the sight of his heart and the feeling of his mind, and then only in part, since it is clearly said: “My face” (i.e., the One who gave the answer to Moses) “will not appear to you, but you will see My behind” (Ex. 33:23). Of course, this expression must be understood with the mystery with which it is proper to understand divine words - completely rejecting and despising those old wives' fables that inexperienced people come up with about the “front and back” of God. Let no one also think that we are thinking something ungodly when we say that the Father is invisible to the Savior. We must take into account how far we stand from the heretics when using this expression in the fight against them. In fact, we said that it is another thing to see and be seen, and another thing to know and be known, or to know and be known. Seeing and being seen is characteristic of bodies, and this, of course, cannot be applied either to the Father, or to the Son, or to the Holy Spirit in Their mutual relations: the nature of the Trinity is not subject to the conditions of vision; it grants the property of mutually seeing each other to creatures that have a body, that is, to all other creatures; It is fitting for an incorporeal, i.e. in the proper sense spiritual, nature only to know and to be known, as the Savior Himself proclaims when he says that “no one knows the Son but the Father, nor does anyone know the Father except the Son and whoever the Son wills is revealed” (Matthew 11:27). So it is clear: He did not say, “No one can see the Father but the Son,” but: “No one knows the Father but the Son.” 4. Heretics think to find a basis for refuting us in those sayings of the Old Testament where repentance or anger, or some other passionate human disposition is attributed to God; they argue that God must be thought of as completely dispassionate and alien to all these disturbances. But they must be shown that something similar (to what is contained in the Old Testament) also exists in the Gospel parables. Here, for example, it is said that someone planted a vineyard and entrusted it to winegrowers; when the winegrowers killed the servants sent to them and, finally, killed even the son sent to them, the owner, angry, took the vineyard from them and betrayed the evil winegrowers to cruel destruction, and gave the vineyard to other winegrowers so that they would give him the fruit in due time (Luke 20). Another parable tells that when the lord went to receive the kingdom, the citizens sent an embassy after him, saying: “We do not want him to reign over us,” then, having received the kingdom and returning, the lord in anger ordered to kill these citizens in his presence, and destroyed their city with fire (Luke 19). But when we read about the wrath of God - either in the Old Testament or in the New - we pay attention not to the letter of the story, but look for the spiritual meaning in such places in order to understand them in a way that is worthy of thinking about God. So, when we explained that verse of the second psalm, where it says: “Then he will speak to them with his anger and will crush me with his wrath” (Psalm 2:5), we, as best we could, according to the smallness of our mind, showed exactly how this (the saying about the wrath of God) should be understood. Chapter five. About the Righteous and the Good 1. Some are also concerned that the representatives of this heresy, apparently, have invented some kind of division for themselves and, on the basis of it, say that one thing is truth, and another is goodness; The heretics also applied this division to the Divinity, and therefore they claim that the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is a good God, but not a righteous one; The God of the law and the prophets is a just God, but not good. I consider it necessary to answer this question as briefly as possible. So, they consider goodness to be some kind of disposition, by virtue of which goodness should be shown to everyone, even if the one to whom the benefit is shown was unworthy and did not deserve to receive (it). But it seems to me that they incorrectly use this definition (of goodness), on the basis of which they think that a good deed is no longer done to someone to whom something sad or severe is done. As for justice, they consider it to be a disposition that gives everyone what they deserve. But even in this case, they again misinterpret the meaning of their definition. They think that a just being makes evil evil, and good - good, i.e., according to their understanding, the just, apparently, does not wish good to the evil, but rushes against them with some kind of hatred. At the same time, they collect various stories from the Old Testament, for example, about the punishments of the flood and those drowned in it, or about the devastation of Sodom and Gomorrah by rain of fire and brimstone, or about the death of all (the Jews) in the desert for their sins, when not one of those who came out of Egypt entered the Promised Land, except Jesus and Caleb. From the New Testament they collect words of mercy and love (pietatis), with which the Savior instructed His disciples, and which, apparently, proclaim that no one is good except God the Father. Based on all this, they dare to call the Father Jesus Christ good and distinguish from Him the God of the world, whom they want to call righteous, but not good. 2. But first of all, I think you need to ask them the following. How can they, from the point of view of their definition, prove the justice of the Creator, Who deservedly punished those who died during the flood, or the Sodomites, or the Jews who came out of Egypt, while we see that sometimes things are committed that are much more indecent and criminal than those for which the above-mentioned people died, and yet we do not see that each of these sinners washes their crimes with a well-deserved punishment. Will they really say that the one who was once just (later) became good? Or will they rather begin to think that the Creator is now, of course, fair, but patiently endures human sins, and then he was not even fair, because, together with the fierce and wicked giants, he exterminated innocent boys and infants? But they think this way because they cannot hear anything other than letters. Let them then show how it is true in letter that the sins of parents are passed on to the bosom of their sons until the third and fourth generation, and to the sons of their sons after them? (Deut.5:9) We do not understand all these and similar expressions in the literal sense; on the contrary, according to the teaching of Ezekiel, who called them a parable (Ezek. 18:3), we are looking only for the inner meaning of this very parable. They must also show how one who punishes the earth-born and the devil can be recognized as fair and rewarding everyone according to their deserts, although they have not done anything worthy of punishment. In fact, if, according to the heretics themselves, they were evil creatures and lost by nature, then they could not do anything good. Consequently, since heretics (and in this case) call the Creator a judge, then He turns out to be a judge not so much of works as of nature: because an evil nature cannot do good, likewise a good nature cannot do evil. Further, if God, whom they call good, is good to everyone, then, without a doubt, He is good also to those who are perishing; but why doesn't He save them? If He does not want (to save them), then He is no longer good; if He wants, but cannot, then He is not omnipotent. But let them better listen to the fact that, according to the Gospel, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ prepares fire for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). And how, from their point of view, this, as punitive as it is harsh, will turn out to be characteristic of a good God? And the Savior Himself, the Son of the good God, testifies in the Gospels and says that if miracles had been performed in Tire and Sidon, they would have repented in sackcloth and ashes (Matthew 11:21). But why, I ask, did Christ, having come very close to these cities and even entering their borders, still refuse to enter the cities themselves and show them an abundance of signs and wonders, although it was known that after performing these miracles they would repent in sackcloth and ashes? If He does not do this, then it means that He leaves to destruction those cities that were not evil and lost by nature, as the Gospel narrative itself shows, noting that they could repent. Likewise, in a certain Gospel parable, the king, having gone to look at the invited guests (guests) reclining, saw one (of those reclining) not dressed in wedding clothes and said to him: “Friend, why did you come in without a wedding robe?” He was silent. Then the king spoke to the servants: “Binding his hand and nose, take him and throw him into utter darkness: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 22:12–13). Let them tell us who is this king who, having come in to look at those reclining and finding one among them in dirty clothes, orders his servants to tie him up and throw him into outer darkness? Is this really the one they call fair? But, in this case, why did he order to invite (indifferently) good and evil and did not order the servants to inquire about their merits? This, of course, no longer shows the mood (affectus) of some just, as the heretics say, God, rewarding according to deserts, but the mood of indifferent goodness (in relation to everyone). If it is necessary to understand this in relation to the good God, that is, to Christ or to the Father of Christ, then how does this differ from the fact for which they blame the righteous judgment of God, and, further, what they blame in the God of the law? After all, the same thing turns out to be good in God, who sent his servants to call the good and the evil, and meanwhile ordered the man they invited, for unclean clothes, to be tied hand and foot and thrown into outer darkness. 3. To refute what heretics usually present, the evidence that we have taken from Scripture is sufficient. However, in the fight against them it is not superfluous, it seems, to present some arguments from reason. So, we ask them if they know what is considered a virtue or a vice among people, and whether it is possible to talk about virtues in God or, in their opinion, in two gods? Let them also answer the question: if they recognize goodness as a certain virtue - with which, no doubt, they will agree - then what will they say about justice? It seems to me that they will never, of course, reach such madness as not to recognize justice as a virtue. But if goodness is a virtue, and justice is also a virtue, then, without a doubt, justice is goodness. If they say that justice is not good, then it means that it is either evil or something indifferent. Of course, if they say that justice is evil, then, in my opinion, it would be stupid to answer them. It seems to me that this would mean responding to crazy speeches from crazy people. And indeed, how can one consider something evil that, according to their own consciousness, can render good to the good? Further, if they call truth an indifferent matter, then it will be necessary to recognize both moderation (sobrietas), and prudence (prudentia), and all other virtues as indifferent. And what will we then answer Paul to his words: “If there is any virtue and if there is any praise, consider this, which you have learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me” (Phil. 4:8-9). So, let them learn through the study of the Scriptures what the individual virtues are, and do not shy away from what they say, as if God, who rewards everyone according to their deserts, repays evil for evil out of hatred for the evil, and not because those who have sinned need to be healed by more or less severe means, and for this reason measures are applied to them, currently, under the guise of correction, which apparently cause a feeling of suffering. They do not read what is written about the hope of those who perished in the flood, about which hope Peter himself, in his first epistle, says this: “Christ was put to death in the flesh, but was quickened by the Spirit, and a sermon came down about Him and to those who were in spiritual prison, who sometimes resisted, while waiting for God’s patience, in the days of Noah the ark was being made, but there were few, that is, eight souls in it. having been saved from the water, his imagination now saves you (us) through baptism” (1 Peter 3:18–21). Regarding Sodom and Gomorrah, let them tell us whether they recognize the prophetic words as belonging to God the Creator, that is, to the One who, according to the story of Scripture, sent fire and brimstone rain on them? What does the prophet Ezekiel say about them? “Sodom will be restored as before” (Ezek. 16:55). It is clear that in crushing those worthy of punishment, He crushes them for good. He even says to Chaldea: “Make coals of fire, sit on them, they will be your help” (Isaiah 47:14–15). Let them also listen to what is said in Psalm 77, attributed to Asaph, about those who fell in the wilderness: “When I kill, then I will seek Him” (Psalm 77:34). He does not say that after killing some, others sought Him, but says that the death of those killed was such that, after being killed, they sought God. From all this it is clear that the righteous and good God of the law and the Gospels is one and the same and that He both does good with righteousness and punishes with goodness, because neither goodness without truth, nor truth without goodness can be indicators of the dignity of the divine nature. But, prompted by their cunning, we will add the following. If truth is not good, then, without a doubt, untruth is not evil, because evil is the opposite of good, and untruth is opposite to truth; therefore, in your opinion, just as a just person is not good, so an unjust person is not an evil person, and, conversely, just as a good person is not a fair person, so an evil person is not an unjust person. But to whom will it not seem absurd that the good God is opposed to the evil God, but the righteous God, whom they consider lower than the good, is not opposed to anyone. After all, there is no one who is called unjust, just as there is Satan, who is called evil. So what? Let us reject what we defend. After all, they cannot say that the evil is not at the same time unjust, and the unjust is not evil. Thus, if in these opposites justice is inseparably linked with evil, and evil with injustice, then, without a doubt, the good cannot be separated from the just, and the just from the good; and just as we call the lewdness of evil and untruth one and the same lewdness, so we must consider the virtue of goodness and justice to be one and the same virtue. 4. But they again call us to the words of Scripture, offering their notorious question. They say: it is written that “an evil tree cannot produce good fruit, for from the fruit the tree will be known” (Matthew 7:18, 12:33). But why do they say this? Which tree exactly represents the law is revealed from its fruits, that is, from the words of the commandments. If the law is good, then, without a doubt, God, who gave this law, must be recognized as good. If the law is more just than good, then the lawgiver God must also be recognized as just. But the Apostle Paul, without any circumlocution, says: “Then the law is good, and the commandment is holy, and righteous, and good” (Rom. 7:12). From this it is clear that Paul did not learn letters from those who separate right from good, but was instructed by that God and inspired by the Spirit of that God, who is at once holy, and good, and just; speaking by the Spirit (per Spiritum) of this God, he therefore called the commandment of the law holy, and righteous, and good. And in order to show more clearly that goodness in the commandment prevails over truth and holiness, when repeating the saying, instead of these three properties, he indicates only goodness (kindness); he says: “Would it be good for me to die; let it not be” (Rom. 7:13). The Apostle knew, of course, that goodness is a genus virtue, while truth and holiness are types of genus; therefore, having first named both the genus and the species together, and repeating the saying, he limited himself to the genus alone. And in the following words: “The sin of my good causes death” (Ibid.), he designates by a generic concept what he designated above by type. In the same way, we must understand the words: “A good man brings forth good treasures, and an evil man brings forth good treasures, and an evil man brings forth evil treasures from evil” (Matthew 12:35). The Savior here took the generic concepts of good and evil, without a doubt, showing that in a good person there is justice, moderation, prudence, piety, and everything that can be called or considered good. In the same way, He called evil, without a doubt, (such) a person who is unjust, and unclean, and wicked - in a word, he has all the particular qualities that disgrace an evil person. And just as no one considers a person to be evil, and no one can be evil without these shortcomings, so without those virtues, of course, no one can be considered good. But they still have what they consider to be a shield, primarily given to them - these are the words of the Lord in the Gospel: “No one is good, except one God the Father” (Luke 18:19). They say that this is the proper name of the Father of Christ, Who is different from God the Creator of everything, to which creator the Savior did not give the name of goodness. So, let's see if the God of the prophets, the creator of the world and the lawgiver is really not called good in the Old Testament? But here are the words of the Psalms: “If the God of Israel is good with a right heart” (Psalm 72:1) - and: “Let the house of Israel say (now) that He is good, that His mercy endures forever” (Psalm 117:2). And in “Lamentations of Jeremiah” it is written: “The Lord is good to those who hope, even to the souls that seek Him” (Lam. 3:25). So, in the Old Testament, God is often called good. In the same way, in the Gospels the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is called righteous. Thus, in the Gospel of John, our Lord Himself, in prayer to the Father, says: “Righteous Father, neither do you know the world” (John 17:25). Let them not say that in this case the Savior called the Creator of the world Father, due to the perception of the flesh, and called this very (creator) righteous: such an understanding is excluded directly by the following words: “And the world is not known to You.” After all, according to their teaching, the world does not know only one good God; He fully knows his creator, according to the word of the Lord Himself, that the world loves its own. So, it is clear that the God whom they consider good is called righteous in the Gospels. At your leisure, it will be possible to collect more evidence, where the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the New Testament, is called righteous, and the Creator of heaven and earth, in the Old Testament, is called good - so that someday the heretics, convinced by these numerous testimonies, will be ashamed. Chapter six. About the Incarnation of Christ 1. After these studies, it is time to turn to the question of the incarnation of our Lord and Savior, how and why did He become a man? Indeed, to the best of our ability, we have already examined the divine nature, more on the basis of its own works than on the basis of the contemplation of our thoughts; we also examined the creations of her (divine nature), both visible and invisible, contemplated by faith, because human frailty cannot see everything with the eyes and comprehend with the mind, due, of course, to the fact that we humans are the weakest and weakest animal of all rational animals; whereas those beings, celestial or above-heavenly, stand much higher (us). Now, therefore, we are left to wonder about the mean between all these creatures and God, that is, about the Mediator, whom the Apostle Paul proclaims “the firstborn of all creation.” We see that the Holy Scripture says a lot about His greatness, we find that He “is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, for by Him all things were created, visible and invisible, whether they were thrones, whether they were dominions, whether they were principalities, whether they were powers: all things were created by Him and in Him: and He is before all, and all things are found in Him” (Col. 1:15–17). He is the head of everything, and he alone has God the Father as his head, for it is written: “The head of Christ is God” (1 Cor. 11:3). It is also written that “no one knows the Father but the Son, and no one knows the Son except the Father” (Matthew 11:27) - for who can know what wisdom is except the One who gave birth to it? Or who knows with complete clarity what truth is, except the Father of truth? Who can truly examine the whole nature of the Word of God and the nature of God Himself, which is from God, except God alone, Who had the Word. Therefore, we must be sure that no one knows this Word, or Reason, this Wisdom, this Truth, except the Father alone, and therefore it is written about Him: “The whole world cannot contain the books that are written” (John 21:25), i.e. (books) about the glory and greatness of the Son of God. And, indeed, it is impossible to express in writing what relates to the glory of the Savior. So, seeing so many great testimonies about the nature of the Son of God, we are numb, in the greatest amazement from the fact that this being, surpassing all others, humbling Himself from the state of His greatness, became a man and lived among people - as the grace that poured out through His lips testifies (to this), and as the Heavenly Father testified to Him, and as the various signs and wonders and powers performed by Him confirm. Before this appearance in the flesh, He sent prophets as forerunners and heralds of His coming. After His ascension into heaven, He gave orders to go around the entire universe to the holy apostles, filled with the power of His Divinity - inexperienced and unlearned people, (who came from) among tax collectors or fishermen; He gave them a command that from every language and from all nations they should form an assembly of pious people who believe in Him. 2. But of all the miracles and great deeds relating to Him, this in particular excites the wonder of the human mind, and the weak thought of a mortal being cannot in any way understand and comprehend in particular that such a great power of divine majesty - that the very Word of the Father and the very Wisdom of God, in which everything visible and invisible was created, was, as one must believe, within the limitations (intra circumscriptionem) of man who appeared in Judas, that the Wisdom of God entered into the womb of his mother, was born as a baby and cried in the likeness of crying babies, that then (this Son of God) was embarrassed by death, as He Himself confesses when He says: “My soul is sorrowful even to death” (Matthew 26:38), and that, finally, He was brought to death, which is considered the most shameful by people, and despite this, after three days He was resurrected. Thus, we see in Him, on the one hand, something human, in which He, apparently, does not differ at all from the general frailty (fragilitate) of mortals, on the other hand, something divine, which is not characteristic of any other nature besides that first and ineffable nature of the Divine. This is where the difficulty arises for human thought: struck by amazement, it is perplexed as to where to lean, what to hold on to, what to turn to. If she thinks of Him as God, then she sees Him as mortal; if she considers (Him) a man, then she sees Him trampling upon the power of death and Rising from the dead with spoils. Therefore, one must observe with all fear and reverence in order to discover in the same (person) the truth of both natures, so that, on the one hand, one does not think anything unworthy and indecent about that divine and ineffable essence (substantia), and, on the other hand, one does not consider the actions (of Him as a man) to be false, ghostly images. To put all this into human ears and explain it in words, of course, far exceeds the strength of our dignity, mind and words. I think that this exceeds even the measure (of the abilities inherent in) the holy apostles; and perhaps the explanation of this sacrament is not accessible even to all the creatures of the heavenly powers. We will present the teaching on this subject, as briefly as possible, not at all out of any impetus, but only because the plan of the essay requires it, and we will present more what our faith contains than the usual proofs presented by human reason, for our part we will present our assumptions rather than any clear statements. 3. So, according to the teaching of Scripture, the Only Begotten [Son] of God, through whom, as the previous discussion showed, everything visible and invisible was created, and He created everything and loves the created things. Therefore, being Himself the invisible image of the invisible God, He invisibly granted participation in Him to all rational creatures, so that everyone would participate in Him to the extent that they were imbued with a feeling of love towards Him. But, as a result of the ability of free will, differences and diversity arose between souls, because one soul nourished a more ardent love for Its Creator, the other more superficial and weak. The same soul about which Jesus said that “no one will take my life from me” (Jn. 10:18) from the very beginning of creation and in subsequent times, she inseparably and inseparably abided in Him, as in the wisdom and Word of God, as in truth and eternal light, and, perceiving everything (the Son of God) with her whole being, and entering into His light and radiance, she became predominantly one spirit with Him, as the apostle promises to those who should imitate her: “Be cleave to the Lord; there is one spirit with the Lord” (1 Cor. 6:17). Through this substance of the soul between God and the flesh (for it was not possible for the Divine nature to unite (misceri) with the body without an intermediary), God, as we said, is born as a man, because it was not unnatural for this middle substance to receive a body, and, on the other hand, for this soul, as a rational substance, it was not unnatural to perceive God, into whom, as we said above, it had already completely entered, as into the Word, and Wisdom and Truth. Therefore, being itself entirely in God and having received into itself the entire Son of God, this soul with the flesh it has received is rightly called the Son of God, the power of God, Christ and the Wisdom of God - and, conversely, the Son of God, through whom all things were created, is called Jesus Christ and the Son of Man. So it is said that the Son of God died - of course, according to that nature, which, of course, could accept death - and He who came in the glory of His Father with the holy angels is called the Son of Man. For this reason, throughout Scripture, just as the divine nature is called by human names, so human nature is adorned with the glorious names of the divine nature; for this, more than anything else, can be said in the words of Scripture: “They will both become one flesh, and there are no longer two, but one flesh” (Mark 10:8). One must think that the Word of God is more one with the soul in the flesh than husband and wife. In the same way, who is more fitting to be one spirit with God than this soul, which through love has been so united with God that it is rightly called one spirit with Him. 4. The perfection of love and the sincerity of the acquired disposition made this unity of her with God inseparable, so that the perception of this soul (the Son of God) was not accidental or illusory (cum personae acceptancee), but was granted to her according to her merits for her virtues. That this is so, listen to the prophet who speaks about this soul: “Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity: therefore for the sake of Thy anointing, O God, Thy God is more than Thy partaker with the oil of gladness” (Psalm 45:8). So, He is anointed with the oil of joy, that is, the soul of Christ, together with the Word of God, becomes Christ - as a reward for love. The anointing with the oil of joy means nothing less than the filling of the Holy Spirit; the words “more than a partaker” show that she was not given the grace of the Spirit, like the prophets, but that the substantial fullness of the Word of God Himself was present in her, just as the apostle said: “In Him dwells all the fulfillment of the physical Godhead” (Col. 2:9). Finally, for the same reason, the prophet not only said: “Thou hast loved righteousness,” but also added: “And thou hast hated iniquity,” since to hate iniquity means what the Scripture says about Him: He “thou shalt not commit iniquity, for flattery is found in His mouth” (Isa. 53:9) - and also: “Tempted in every way, even in the likeness of success.” (Heb. 4:15). And the Lord Himself says: “Who of you accuses Me of sin?” (John 8:46) And again He (He) speaks about Himself: “For the prince of this world is coming, and in Me he will have nothing” (John 14:30). All this shows that there was no sinful feeling in Him. Wanting to indicate this more clearly - namely, that a sinful feeling never entered into Him, the prophet says: “Before a child knows to call father or mother, he will reject the evil one” (Ex. 8:4, 7:16). 5. Someone may imagine such a difficulty: above we have shown that in Christ there is a rational soul, but in all our reasoning we have often proved that the nature of souls is capable of good and evil. This difficulty is explained as follows. There can be no doubt that the nature of that soul was the same as that inherent in all souls; otherwise, if it were not truly a soul, it could not even be called a soul. But since the ability to choose between good and evil is inherent in all (souls), this soul, belonging to Christ, so loved the truth that, due to the greatness of love, it clung to it invariably and inseparably, so that the strength of disposition, the immeasurable power of feeling, the unquenchable ardor of love cut off (in it) any thought of seduction and change, and what was previously free, then, as a result of prolonged exercise, turned into nature. Thus, one must believe that in Christ there was a human and rational soul, and at the same time one must think that this soul had no disposition or capacity for sin. 6. But for a complete explanation of the matter, it seems not superfluous to use some kind of similarity, although in such a sublime and such a difficult question it is impossible to find many suitable examples. However, without any prejudice, let us present such an example. Iron metal can perceive both cold and heat. So, let us assume that some amount of iron always lies in the fire and, with all its pores and all its veins perceiving fire, everything has become fire. If fire is never separated from this iron, and it is not separated from the fire, then can we really say that this piece of iron - which by nature, of course, is iron - being on fire and constantly burning, can ever receive cold? On the contrary, we say - and this is more correct - that rather the whole (of this piece of iron) became fire, because nothing other than fire is seen in it, as we often see with our own eyes in furnaces - and if anyone tries to touch or feel (it), he will feel the power of fire, and not of iron. In the same way, that soul, like iron in fire, is always in the Word, always in Wisdom, always in God, and therefore everything that it does, that it feels, that it thinks, is God. That is why this soul cannot be called seduced and changeable: it received immutability as a result of continuous and fiery union with the Word of God. Of course, on all saints, one must think, some warmth of the Word of God descends: but in this soul the most divine fire rested substantially, from which some warmth emanates on others. After all, the words: “You are anointed, your God is more than your partaker” - show that that soul is anointed differently with the oil of joy, that is, with the Word of God and Wisdom, and its partners, that is, the holy prophets and apostles, are anointed differently. These, as they say, walked only in the fragrance of God's incense, and the soul of Christ was a vessel of the fragrance itself, from the fragrance of which, through participation in it, worthy people became prophets and apostles. The substance of the incense is another matter, and its smell is another matter; in the same way, Christ is another matter, and His partners are another matter. And just as the very vessel that contains the substance of incense cannot in any way receive any stench, while those who participate in its smell, if they move more or less away from its fragrance, can receive the stench: so Christ, being the very vessel in which the substance of incense was, could not receive an offensive smell; His accomplices will be all the more capable of perceiving the smell, the closer they are to the vessel. 7. I think that Jeremiah the prophet, understanding exactly what the nature of the Wisdom of God is in Him and what the nature that He assumed for the sake of the salvation of the world, said: “The Lord is the anointed Spirit of our countenance; The shadow of our body is inseparable from the body and steadily reproduces all the movements and actions of the body. In this sense, I think, the prophet, wanting to show the work and movement of the soul of Christ, which was inseparably inherent in it and carried out everything in accordance with the movement and will of Christ, called this soul the shadow of Christ the Lord, in which we can live among the nations - because in the mystery of this acceptance (of the Word of God by the soul) people live who achieve salvation, imitating this soul through faith. It seems to me that David also shows something similar when he says: “Remember, O Lord, the reproach that I have reproached for the change of Your Christ” (Ps 89:51-52). Doesn’t Paul mean the same thing when he says: “Your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3). And in another place, he says: “You are seeking temptation, who speaks in Me” (2 Cor. 13:3). This means that Christ, according to him, is now hidden in God. In this saying we can indicate the same meaning as, as we said above, the words of the prophet about the shadow of Christ; or perhaps it surpasses the understanding of the human mind. In the Holy Scriptures we find many other sayings about the meaning of the shadow. These are, for example, the words of Gabriel to Mary in the Gospel of Luke: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you” (Luke 1:35). The apostle also speaks of the law that those who have physical circumcision serve “the image and shadow of heaven” (Heb. 8:5). And in another place it says: “Our life is on earth” (Job 8:9). So, if the law that is on earth is a shadow, and we live among the nations in the shadow of Christ, then we need to consider whether the truth of all these shadows will not be known in that revelation, when all the saints will be worthy to contemplate the glory of God, as well as the causes and truth of things, no longer through a mirror or fortune-telling, but face to face. Having already received a guarantee of this truth through the Holy Spirit, the apostle said: “Although we understood according to the flesh of Christ, but now we understand no one” (2 Cor. 5:16). So, this is what we could imagine when discussing such difficult subjects at the present time, that is, about the incarnation and the divinity of Christ. If anyone can find something better and confirm his words with more obvious evidence from the Holy Scriptures, then, of course, we must accept these latter better than ours (evidence). Chapter seven. About the Holy Spirit 1. After those first discussions about the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, proposed at the request of the case, at the beginning of the work, it seemed necessary to us to repeat again and show that one and the same God is both the Creator of the world and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that is, that one and the same God is both the law and the prophets, and the Gospels. Then it was still necessary to show regarding Christ that it was he who was represented above by the Word and Wisdom of God who became man. It remains, as briefly as possible, to repeat also about the Holy Spirit. So, now is the time, to the best of our ability, to say a little about the Holy Spirit, whom our Lord and Savior in the Gospel of John called the Comforter (John 14:26). Just as God Himself is one and the same, and Christ is one and the same, so the Holy Spirit is one and the same, Who was in both the prophets and the apostles, that is, both in those people who believed in God even before the coming of Christ, and in those who resorted to God through Christ. We have heard that heretics dared to speak about two gods and two Christs, but we do not know that anyone has ever preached about two Holy Spirits. And indeed, how could they confirm this with Holy Scripture, or - what difference could they indicate between one Holy Spirit and another? - if any definition or description of the Holy Spirit can be found at all. In fact, let us assume with Marcion or Valentinus that it is possible to introduce differences in the Divinity, and to depict the nature of the good in another way, and the nature of the just in another, but what will (the one and the other heretic) come up with and what (ground) will he find to prove the difference of the Holy Spirit? I think they can find nothing to prove any difference. 2. As for us, we think that every rational creature takes part in the Holy Spirit, just as in the Wisdom of God and the Word of God, without any distinction. However, I see that the predominant descent of the Holy Spirit to people is revealed after the ascension of Christ into heaven more than before His coming. Previously, the gift of the Holy Spirit was given only to the prophets and to a few of the people if someone deserved it. After the coming of the Savior, as it is written, what was said in the book of the prophet Joel was fulfilled, which would happen in the last days, “and I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh, and they will prophesy” (Joel 2:28), and this, of course, is equivalent to the following words: “All the nations will work for Him” (Psalm 71:11). So, along with many other things, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, this is also revealed majestic (gift) that there are only a few before Christ, i.e. the prophets themselves, and hardly one of the entire people, could rise above the bodily understanding of the prophetic writings or the law of Moses and understand in the law or the prophets something more, namely some spiritual meaning, but now there are countless numbers of believers who, although not all can clearly and in order reveal the spiritual meaning, but nevertheless all have the conviction that they should not understand in the bodily sense either circumcision, or the Sabbath rest, or the shedding of the blood of cattle, or (the story that) God gave instructions to Moses regarding all this. And such understanding is given to everyone, without a doubt, by the power of the Holy Spirit. 3. There are numerous concepts about Christ. He, of course, is Wisdom, but however, he does not really produce and maintain wisdom in everyone, but only in those who themselves care about wisdom, just as a doctor does not act like a doctor towards everyone, but only towards those who, recognizing their illness, resort to his mercy in order to get health! I think the same way about the Holy Spirit, in whom are contained all kinds of gifts (omnis natura donoram). In fact, to some the Holy Spirit gives the word of wisdom, to others the word of knowledge, to others faith (1 Cor. 12:8), and so for everyone who can receive the Holy Spirit, He Himself becomes that or is known in that respect, in what and in what respect the person who deserves participation in Him needs. Some, hearing that the Holy Spirit is called the Comforter in the Gospel, but not paying attention to these divisions or differences, and not judging for what deed or action He is called the Comforter, equated Him - I don’t even know with what low spirits and tried to disturb the churches of Christ with this, so that they created important disagreements between the brothers. Meanwhile, the Gospel ascribes to Him such greatness and power that it says that the apostles could accept what the Savior wanted to teach them, not otherwise than after the coming of the Holy Spirit, who, pouring into their souls, could enlighten them regarding the knowledge and faith in the Trinity. Because of the inexperience of their minds, they not only cannot consistently present what constitutes the truth, but they cannot even focus their attention on what we say, therefore, thinking unworthy things about His Divinity, they indulged in errors and deceptions, rather seduced by the seducing spirit, rather than taught by the instructions of the Holy Spirit, as the Apostle says: “heeding” the teaching of the demonic spirits, “who rebuke get married,” to the destruction and fall of many, and needlessly “flee from the wastelands” in order to tempt the souls of the innocent with the vanity of the strictest abstinence (1 Tim. 4:1–3). 4. So, we must know that the Holy Spirit is the Comforter, teaching more than can be expressed in words - which, so to speak, is inexpressible, and that “man is not old enough to speak” (2 Cor. 12:4), that is, what cannot be expressed by human speech. It is said: “not let” (not permissible), and not “impossible,” as we think, in the sense in which it is said in another place: “All my years are, but not all are for good; “They are all of us, but not all of them edify” (1 Cor. 10:23), that is, for us, he says, it is permissible for us to have the right (potestas), as a result of which we can have it. The Holy Spirit is called Comforter (Paraclete) from consolation, because Paraclete means Comforter. After all, whoever has been worthy of participation in the Holy Spirit, having learned the ineffable mysteries, without a doubt, receives consolation and heartfelt joy. When, at the direction of the Holy Spirit, he knows the foundations of everything that is done - exactly why and how it is done - then, of course, his soul will no longer be embarrassed by anything and will not accept any feeling of sadness, and then he will no longer fear anything, since, being in the Word and Wisdom of God, he calls Jesus Lord, in the Holy Spirit. – We mentioned the Comforter and, to the best of our ability, explained how this name should be understood. But our Savior is also called the Comforter (Paracletum) in the epistle of John: “If anyone sins on our behalf, Jesus Christ the Righteous is the intercessor (paracletum) with the Father, and He is the cleanser for our sins” (1 John 2:1–2). Let us consider whether a different meaning is connected with the name of the Paraclete when applied to the Savior and when applied to the Holy Spirit? In relation to the Savior, the Paraclete seems to mean an intercessor, since in Greek the paraclete means both, an intercessor and a comforter. Indeed, the subsequent saying “And He is the cleansing for our sins” (Ibid), apparently, will give reason to understand the name of the paraclete, in relation to the Savior, in the meaning of an intercessor, for He, it is said, begs the Father for our sins. In relation to the Holy Spirit, the name of the Paraclete must be understood in the sense that He gives consolation to souls to whom he opens the understanding of spiritual knowledge. 1. After this, as required by the plan, we must examine the doctrine of the soul in general and, starting from the lower, ascend to the higher beings. After all, no one, I think, doubts that there is a soul in every animal, even in those animals that dwell in the waters. And this conviction, indeed, is supported by the general opinion of all people, it is also confirmed by the authority of Holy Scripture, since it says here that “God created the great whales and every living creature that moves along the waters, according to their kinds” (Gen. 1:21). On the basis of the general consciousness of reason, this conviction is affirmed by those who give an exact definition of the soul. According to their definition, the soul is a substance fantastikh' and ormhtikh', and this in Latin, although not entirely accurate, can be expressed in the words: sensibilis and mobilis, that is, feeling and mobile. But this (concept of the soul) can be applied, of course, to all animals, even to those living in water; it turns out to be applicable also to flying animals. Scripture reinforces the authority of another opinion when it says: “You shall not take away the blood, for the life of all flesh is its blood” and “you shall not eat the soul and the body” (Lev. 17:13–14); here it is completely clearly shown that the blood of all animals is their soul. But someone may ask: how can the words that the soul of all flesh is its blood be applied to bees, wasps, ants, as well as to oysters, snails and other animals living in water, which are devoid of blood, but nevertheless, according to the clearest indication of Scripture, are animated? To this it must be answered that in animals of this genus the fluid in them, although it is of a different color, has the same meaning as in other animals the red blood belongs; after all, the color (of blood) does not matter, as long as the substance (of it) is vital. As for (pack) animals and livestock, there is no doubt regarding their animation, even in the general opinion. The thought of Holy Scripture (about them) is also clear, because God says: “Let the earth bring forth every living creature according to its kind, four-footed creatures, creeping things, and wild animals of the earth according to its kind” (Gen. 1:24). Further, there can, of course, be no doubt about the animation of man; no one can even ask about it. But nevertheless, the Holy Scripture notes that “God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul” (Gen. 2:7). It remains to be investigated about the angelic order and about other divine and heavenly powers, as well as about opposing powers: do these creatures have souls, or are they souls? So far we have not found in the Holy Scriptures any authoritative indication that angels or any other ministering spirits of God have souls or are called souls, but very many consider them to be animate. About God we find the following words: “And I will establish My soul against the soul that eats blood, and I will destroy it from My people” (Lev. 17:10), and in another place: “I will not tolerate your new moon and Saturdays and high days: fasting, and idleness, and your holidays My soul hates” (Isaiah 1:13-14). And in the twenty-first psalm (it is known that this psalm, as the Gospel testifies, was written on behalf of Christ himself) it is said about Christ like this: “But you, Lord, do not remove your help from me, come to my intercession, deliver, O God, from the weapon of my soul and from the hand of my only begotten dog” (Psalm 21:20–21). There are many other testimonies about the soul of Christ in the flesh. 2. However, any question about the soul of Christ is eliminated by the doctrine of the incarnation: for just as Christ truly had flesh, so He truly had a soul. It is difficult to understand and find out just how to understand the soul of God mentioned in Scripture: after all, we confess God as a simple being, without any admixture of any complexity, and yet, apparently, the soul of God is mentioned, no matter in what sense we begin to understand it. There is no doubt about Christ. And therefore, it does not seem absurd to me to say and think something similar about holy angels and other heavenly powers, since that definition of the soul, apparently, is quite suitable for them. In fact, who will deny that they are rational-sensing and mobile beings. If this definition of the soul, as a rational-sensing and mobile substance, is correct, then it apparently applies to angels: after all, what else is in them if not rational feeling and movement? And what is equally determined has, without a doubt, the same substance. “Paul points out that there is some kind of spiritual person who, in his words, cannot accept what is from the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 2:14), to such a person,” he says, “the teaching of the Holy Spirit seems stupid, he cannot comprehend what constitutes the subject of spiritual discernment. And in another place (the apostle) says: “A natural body is sown, a spiritual body is raised” (1 Cor. 15:44), showing that in the resurrection of the righteous there will be nothing spiritual. Therefore we ask, is there not some substance which is imperfect precisely because it is a soul? When we begin to discuss each individual subject in order, we will also ask whether this substance is not perfect because it has fallen from perfection, or was it created that way by God? In fact, if a natural man does not perceive what is from the Spirit of God, and insofar as he is a natural man, he cannot even perceive the understanding of the better nature, i.e. divine nature - then, perhaps for this reason, Paul connects, combines with the Holy Spirit more the mind (mentem) than the soul (animam), wanting to teach us in the most obvious way what it is exactly with which we can comprehend “what is the Spirit,” that is, the spiritual. I think that it is precisely this (organ of comprehension of the spiritual) that the apostle shows when he says: “I will pray in the spirit, and I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the mind also” (1 Cor. 14:15). He does not say: “I will pray with my soul”; but - “spirit and mind”, and does not say: “I will sing with my soul”; but: “I will sing in spirit and mind.” 3. But perhaps they will ask: if it is the mind that prays and sings in the spirit, then is it not this very mind that receives perfection and salvation, as Peter says: “Because our faith receives the end, there is salvation for our souls” (1 Peter 1:9). If the soul does not pray and sing with the spirit, then how can it hope for salvation? Or perhaps, having achieved bliss, it will no longer be called a soul? But let's see if this question can be answered this way. Just as the Savior came to save what was lost, and what was previously called lost is no longer lost as soon as it is saved: so, perhaps, what is saved is called soul, but when (the soul) is saved, it will be called (no longer) by the name of its most perfect part. Some people think it is possible to add the following (explanation). The lost existed, without a doubt, before it perished, when it was something else, different from the perished (what exactly, I don’t know), in the same way, it will exist even when it is not perished: in the same way, the soul, called perished, once, perhaps, was not yet perished and therefore was not called soul, and will someday again get rid of perdition and become what it was before perishing and being called soul. Further, from the very meaning of the name of the soul, which (this name) has in the Greek language, one can extract an important idea, as it seems, at least to some, more attentive researchers. The Word of God calls God fire when it says: “Our God consumes fire” (Deut. 4:24). Also about the substance of angels, it says: “The angels make His spirits and His servants blazing fire” (Heb. 1:7), and in another place: “The angel of the Lord appeared in a flame of fire from a bush” (Ex. 3:2). In addition, we received the commandment to be fervent in spirit (Rom. 12:11), which, without a doubt, indicates the fiery and hot Word of God. Jeremiah the prophet heard from the One who gave him answers: “Behold, My words have come into your mouth like fire” (Jeremiah 1:9). So, just as God is fire, and angels are a flame of fire, and just as all saints are on fire in spirit, so, on the contrary, those who have fallen away from the love of God, without a doubt, have grown cold in their love for God and have become cold. The Lord, indeed, says that “and because iniquity will increase, the love of many will fail” (Matthew 24:12). And everything that is compared in the Holy Scriptures with the opposite power is always called cold, just like the devil himself, colder than whom, of course, nothing can be found. In the sea, says Scripture, the dragon reigns; in fact, the prophet notices that there is a serpent and a dragon in the sea, and this refers, of course, to some evil spirit (Ezek. 32). And in another place the prophet says: “(The Lord) will bring the holy sword against the dragon of the fleeing serpent, against the dragon of the evil serpent, and will kill him” (Is. 27:1). And he also says: “If they are drowned out of My sight and go down into the depths of the sea, then I will command the serpent there too, and I will bite you” (Amos 9:3). In the book of Job, the dragon is called the king of everything that is in the water (Job 41:25). From Boreas, as the prophet proclaims, disasters come to everyone who dwells on the earth (Jer. 1:14). In the Holy Scriptures, Boreas is the name given to the cold wind, as it is written by the Wise One: “The north wind is cold” (Sirach 43:22). The same thing, without a doubt, should be thought about the devil. So, if the holy is called fire, light, flame, and the opposite is called cold, and it is said that love grows cold in many, then, one wonders, why is the soul called by the name of the soul, which in Greek is denoted by the word _psuxh'. Is it because she has cooled from a divine and better state? Is it not because this name was transferred to her that she apparently cooled from that natural and divine warmth and, as a result, found herself in her present state and with this name? Finally, you will hardly find that in Holy Scripture the name soul is used in a laudable sense; in a derogatory sense, it is often found here, for example: “The soul of the evil one will destroy the one who has acquired it” (Sir. 6:4), “The soul that sins will die” (Ezek. 18.4). After the words: “All my souls are, as the soul of the father, so is my soul the son” (Ibid), apparently, it would be necessary to say: “The soul that does righteousness will itself be saved; the soul that sins will itself die.” But we see that He united with the soul that which is worthy of punishment, and that which is worthy of praise, He kept silent about that. So, we need to consider whether the soul is not called _psuxh', that is, soul, because it has cooled to the zeal of the righteous and to participation in the divine fire - as is clear, we said, from the name itself - and, however, it has not lost the ability to restore itself to the state of ardor in which it was at the beginning. That is why the prophet apparently indicates something similar when he says: “turn, my soul, to your rest” (Psalm 115:7). All this seems to show that the mind, having deviated from its state and dignity, became and was called the soul; and that the soul, if restored and corrected, will again become mind. 4. If this is so, then, it seems to me, the deviation and fall of the mind should not be the same in all beings: the mind turns into the soul, sometimes to a greater or lesser extent, and some minds retain something of the original power, and some retain nothing or retain very little. That is why some people from a very early age end up with brilliant mental abilities, others with more sluggish ones, and some are born extremely stupid and completely incapable of learning. However, let the reader himself carefully discuss and examine what we said regarding the conversion of the mind into the soul, and other things that apparently relate to this issue (in hoc); and we, for our part, expressed this not as dogmas, but in the form of reasoning and research. To this reasoning, let the reader add also what can be noticed about the soul of the Savior, on the basis of the Gospel evidence - that under the name of the soul one thing is attributed to it, and under the name of the spirit - another. When the Savior wants to indicate some of His suffering or confusion, he indicates it under the name of the soul; so, for example, He says: “Now My soul is troubled” (John 12:27), and “My soul is sorrowful unto death” (Matthew 26:38), and “No one will take My life from Me, but I lay it down for Myself” (John 10:18). But He will deliver into the hands of the Father not the soul, but the spirit, and when He calls the flesh weak, He calls the spirit, and not the soul, vigorous. From this it is clear that the soul is something between weak flesh and a good spirit. 5. But perhaps someone will object to us on the basis of our own provisions and say: in what sense is it said about the soul of God? We will answer him as follows. Just as everything that is said about God in the bodily sense, for example, fingers, arms, muscles, eyes, legs, lips, we understand not as human members, but as some forces denoted by these names of bodily members: so, one should think, the name of the soul of God denotes something else (in comparison with the soul of man). And if we can dare to say a little more about this subject, then perhaps by the soul of God we can understand the Only Begotten Son of God. In fact, just as the soul, diffused throughout the whole body, moves and puts everything into action, so the Only Begotten Son of God, Who is His Word and Wisdom, touches and reaches all the power of God, abiding in it. And, perhaps, to indicate this mystery, God is called a body in the Holy Scriptures or is described as corporeal. It is also necessary to consider whether it is impossible to call the Only Begotten Son the soul of God also because He came and descended into this place of sorrow and into this valley of tears, and into the place of our humiliation, as the Psalm says: “Thou hast humbled us in the place of bitterness” (Psalm 43:20). Finally, I know that some, explaining the Words of the Savior in the Gospel: “My soul is sorrowful even unto death” (Matthew 26:38), attributed these words to the apostles, whom He called soul, as the best of the rest of the body. After all, the multitude of believers is called His body, but the apostles, they say, should be considered the soul, because they are better than the rest of the body. “This is what we have stated, as best we could, about the rational soul. We have offered our readers thoughts for discussion rather than giving positive and definite teaching. About the souls of cattle and other dumb (animals) what we have decisively said above is enough. Chapter Nine. About the world and about the movements of rational creatures, both good and evil, and about their falls 1. Now let us return to the assumed plan of reasoning and consider the beginning of creation, no matter how the mind of the Creator, God, contemplates this beginning. It must be thought that at this beginning God created such a number of rational, or spiritual (intellectualium) creatures (or whatever we call those creatures that we called above minds) as, according to His foreknowledge, could be sufficient. There is no doubt that God created them, having determined in advance a certain number of them. After all, one should not think that there is no end to creatures, as some wish, because where there is no end, there is no knowledge, and no description is possible. If this were so, then God, of course, could not contain or control created things, because the infinite by nature is incomprehensible. And Scripture says: “God created everything by measure and number” (Wis. 11:21), and, therefore, number is correctly applied to rational beings or minds - in the sense that there are as many of them as divine Providence can distribute, manage and contain. In accordance with this, it is necessary to apply a measure to matter, which, we must believe, was created by God in such quantity as could be sufficient to decorate the world. So, this is what, one must think, was created by God in the beginning, that is, first of all. We think that this (creation) is indicated by the beginning that Moses mysteriously introduces (into his narrative) when he says: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1). After all, here we are talking, of course, not about the firmament and not about the dry land, but about that heaven and earth from which these visible heavens and earth borrowed their names. 2. But since those rational beings, created, according to the above, in the beginning, were created from nothing, then precisely because they did not exist before, and (then) began to exist, they received a necessarily corruptible and changeable existence, because the virtue that ascended into their substance was not inherent in them by nature, but was produced by the grace of the Creator. And their very existence is not their own and not always present, but given from God, because they did not always exist; yet whatever is given can be taken away and cease. The reason for this cessation will be that the movements of souls are not directed in accordance with law and truth (non recte et probabiliter). For the Creator provided the minds He created with voluntary and free movements, of course, so that good would be their own good if it were preserved according to their own will. But laziness and disinclination to work in preserving the good, as well as aversion and disdain for the better, marked the beginning of a retreat from the good. To depart from good means nothing more than to do evil (effici in malo): for it is known that evil is a lack of good. From this it follows that to the extent that someone fell away from goodness, to the same extent he indulged in evil. Consequently, every mind, neglecting good to a greater or lesser extent, in accordance with its movements, was drawn into the opposite of good, which, without a doubt, is evil. From here, it seems, the Creator of all (creatures) received some seeds and causes of difference and diversity, so that he created the world different and varied, according to the difference of minds, that is, rational creatures - the difference that these creatures received, we must think, for the above reason. And what exactly we call different and diverse, we will now indicate. 3. We now call the world everything that is above the heavens, or in the heavens, or on the earth, or in the so-called underworld, and in general all any places and all those who live in them: all this is called the world. In this world there are some beings that are higher than the heavens, that is, placed in the most blessed abodes and clothed in heavenly shining bodies, and among these same beings there are many differences, as even the apostle speaks about this, for example, when he expresses that “There is one glory for the sun, another glory for the moon, and another glory for the stars; for a star differs from a star in glory” (1 Cor. 15:41). Some creatures are called earthly, and between them, that is, between people, there is also no small difference: for some of them are barbarians, others are Greeks, and some of the barbarians are fierce and cruel, while others are comparatively meek. And some people, as we know, use very laudable laws, others baser and harsher ones, and others use inhumane and cruel customs rather than laws. Some from their very birth are in humiliation and subordination, and are brought up like slaves, being placed under the command of masters, or princes, or tyrants, while others are brought up more freely and intelligently; some have healthy bodies, others are sick from childhood, some have a deficiency in vision, others in hearing, others in voice, some were born this way, others received damage to these senses immediately after birth, or suffered this already in adulthood. However, why should I reveal and list all the human disasters from which some are free and to which others are subject, when everyone can even consider and weigh them himself. There are also some invisible forces that are entrusted with the care of earthly creatures. And, one must believe, there is also considerable diversity among these creatures, just as it exists between people. The Apostle Paul also points out that there are still some creatures of the underworld, and in them, “no doubt, diversity can be found in like manner. It seems unnecessary to talk about dumb animals and birds, as well as aquatic animals, since it is known that they should not be considered primary, but subsequent (non principalia, sed consequential 4. Everything that was created was created, as they say, through Christ and in Christ, as the apostle very clearly shows. Paul in the words: “For in Him and through Hero (in ipso per ipsum) were all things created, both in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible: even thrones, if they were dominions, if they were principalities, if they were powers: all kinds of things were created by Him and in Him” (Col. 1:16). John shows the same thing in the Gospel when he says: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was to God, and God was the Word: He was from the beginning to God: all things were made by Him, and without Him were nothing” (John 1:1-2). And in the Psalm it is written: “Thou hast created all things with wisdom” (Psalm 103:24). But Christ is not only the Word and Wisdom, but also Truth, hence it is certain that what was created by Wisdom and the Word was also created by Truth, which is Christ; in other words, in created things one should not see anything unfair, nothing accidental, but in it everything exists as required by the rule of impartial truth. But how such a great difference and such a great variety of things can be considered completely fair and impartial - this, I am sure, cannot be explained by the human mind and human speech, unless we, prostrate and kneeling, beg the Word itself, and Wisdom, and Truth, that is, the Only Begotten Son of God, so that He, with His grace, pours into ours heart, deigned to illuminate the dark, open the closed and explain the secret - of course, under the condition that it turns out that we are so worthy of seeking, or asking, or knocking that we deserve it, asking - to receive, or seeking - to find, or knocking - to wait for the order to open (the doors). And so, not relying on our own mind, but with the help of Wisdom, which created everything, and Truth, according to our faith, inherent in everything, although we cannot affirm anything, however, hoping for mercy (Wisdom and Truth), we will try to search and explore how this such a great difference and diversity of the world exists, apparently, completely in accordance with justice and makes sense. I mean here only the general meaning, for it is characteristic of the inexperienced to seek the private meaning of individual things, and to point it out is characteristic of the insane. 5. When we say that there is diversity in the world and that the world was created by God, we call God both good and righteous, and impartial, then very many, especially those who came from the school of Marcion, Valentinus and Basilides and who heard that the nature of souls is different, usually object to us: how can we agree with the truth of God, who created the world, that He gives some an abode in heaven, and not only gives them a better one? monastery, but at the same time provides some highest and most honorable degree: to some he gives leadership, to others - power, to others he gives dominion, to others he provides the most glorious thrones of heavenly courts, and others shine brilliantly and shine with starry splendor; and to some was given the glory of the sun, to others the glory of the moon, to others the glory of the stars, and star differs from star in glory. In general terms and briefly, this (objection) can be expressed as follows: if God the Creator is not deprived of either the desire for a higher and good deed, or the ability to accomplish it, then, one asks, for what reason, creating rational beings, i.e. those for whom He Himself becomes the cause of their existence, He created some (beings) higher, others - secondary or tertiary, and (others) He created lower and worse by many degrees. Then, they object to earthly (creatures); (they point out) that some have a happier lot of birth (than others); so, for example, one comes from Abraham and is born according to the promise, the other also from Isaac and Rebecca, and, while still in his mother’s womb, kicks his brother, and God loves him even before birth. Or - exactly the same thing (it is noticed in this circumstance) that one is born among the Jews, from whom he finds instruction in the divine law, another is born among the Greeks, wise people and of no small learning, and another is born among the Ethiopians, who have the custom of eating human flesh, or among the Scythians, among whom parricide is committed as if by law, or among the Tauri, who sacrifice foreigners. So, they tell us: if such is the difference of things, if the conditions of birth are so different and varied, free will in this case does not take place (because no one, after all, chooses for himself where or with whom, or in what conditions he will be born): then this, they say, comes from the difference of souls, so that the soul of an evil nature is assigned to a bad people, while a good soul is sent to good (people), - or yet this, they think, happens by chance. Of course, if we accept this last assumption, then we can no longer believe that the world was created by God and is governed by His Providence, and, therefore, we should no longer expect God’s judgment over the deeds of everyone. However, what exactly is the truth in this matter is known only to He who tests everything, even the depths of God (1 Cor. 2:10). 6. As for us, people, we (with the aim of not giving food to the arrogance of heretics by silence) will answer their objections with what can be presented to us to the best of our ability - (we will answer) as follows. We have often proved by such arguments as we could use from the divine Scriptures that God, the Creator of the universe, is good, and just, and omnipotent. When He at the beginning created what He wanted to create, i.e., rational beings, He had no other reason for creation other than Himself, i.e., except His goodness. Thus He was the cause of the existence of creatures. But in Him there was no diversity, no variability, no impotence, therefore everyone whom He created He created equal and similar (aequales ac similes), because for Him there was no reason for diversity and difference. But since rational creatures, as we have often shown and will show in our place, are endowed with the ability of freedom, then free will either led everyone to perfection through imitation of God, or led to a fall through negligence. And this, as we said above, is the reason for the difference between rational creatures: this difference originated not from the will or decision of the Creator, but from the determination of the creatures’ own freedom. God, who recognizes it as just to govern His creation in accordance with its merits, directed this difference of minds towards the harmony of a single world, from different vessels, or souls, or minds. He created, as it were, one house in which there should be vessels not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, and some vessels for honorable use, others for low. These, I think, are the reasons for the diversity in the world; Divine Providence controls each creature according to its movements or disposition of the soul. With this understanding, the Creator does not turn out to be unjust, since He deals with everyone according to their deserts, in accordance with previous reasons; the happiness or misfortune of the birth of each and all other conditions are not recognized as accidental, and, finally, the existence of different creators or the difference of souls by nature is not affirmed. 7. But, it seems to me, Holy Scripture is also not completely silent about the meaning of this mystery. Yes, app. Paul, speaking about Jacob and Esau, says: “Being not yet born, having not done anything, good or evil, so that God’s offer may remain according to election, not from works, but from him who calls, saying to her: For the greater will do the work of the lesser. For it is written: I loved Jacob, but I hated Esau” (Rom. 9:11–13). And after that he answers himself and says, “What’s the point of talking? food is unrighteous with God” (Rom. 9:14). And in order to give us an opportunity to study this (question) and to reason about how this happens not without reason, he answers himself and says: “Let it not be.” It seems to me that the same question that is proposed about Jacob and Esau can be asked regarding all creatures of heaven, earth and the underworld. And as the apostle says in that saying: “Being not yet born, having not done anything, good or evil,” so, it seems to me, one can say about all other (creatures) in a similar way, “when they were not yet created and had not done anything good or bad, so that the will of God might be by election (as some think), some beings were created heavenly, others earthly, and others under the grave, - not a department (as they think), but from the Caller. So, what can we say - if this is so? Is it really not true with God? No way" . Thus, upon careful examination of the words of Scripture regarding Jacob and Esau, it turns out that there is no unrighteousness with God, if before they (Jacob and Esau) were born or did anything in this life, it was said that “the greater will serve the younger,” it turns out that there is no untruth in the fact that Jacob even kicked his brother in the womb: we understand that he was worthily loved by God, according to the merits of his previous life, and therefore deserved to be preferred to brother. One should think the same way about heavenly creatures. Diversity is not the original state (principium) of the creature. But the Creator assigns to each being a different office of service on the basis of previous reasons, according to the merit of merit, based, of course, on the fact that every mind or rational spirit created by God, in accordance with the movements of the mind and spiritual feelings, acquired greater or lesser merit for itself and became either beloved or hated by God. However, some of the creatures who have the best merits suffer along with the rest, for the sake of beautifying the state of the world and are appointed to serve the lower ones (creatures), as a result of which they themselves become partakers of the long-suffering of God, just as the apostle says: “The creation is subject to futility, not willingly, but for the sake of him who obeyed” (Rom. 8:20). So, considering the saying that the apostle expressed when discussing the birth of Esau and Jacob, namely: “Is food unrighteous with God? Let it not be,” I find it fair that the same saying should apply to all creatures, because the Truth of the Creator, as we said above, should be manifested in everything. And this Truth, it seems to me, is revealed most clearly if we recognize that each of the creatures of heaven, earth and the underworld has within itself the causes of diversity that precede bodily birth. Everything was created by the Word of God and His Wisdom, and everything was distributed (ordinata sunt) by His Truth. By the grace of His mercy He provides for everyone and convinces everyone to be healed by the means in which they can, and calls for salvation. 8. There is no doubt that on the day of judgment the good will be separated from the evil and the righteous from the unjust, and by the judgment of God everyone will be distributed, in accordance with their merits, to the places they deserve, as we will show later, if it pleases God. I think something similar has happened before: because God, one must believe, always does and distributes everything fairly. The Apostle also teaches, saying: “In a great house, not only are the vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood, and clay, and ovi for honor, but ovi not for honor” (2 Tim. 2:20), and adds: “If anyone cleanses himself of these, the vessel will be an honor, sanctified, and useful to the Master for every good work” (2 Tim. 2:21). These words, without a doubt, show that whoever purifies himself while in this life will be prepared for every good deed in the future (age), and whoever does not purify himself, depending on the degree of his uncleanness, will be a vessel for low use (ad contumeliam), i.e., an unworthy vessel. In the same way, one can think that intelligent vessels already existed before - either purified or less purified, i.e. either those who have purified themselves, or those who have not; and it was on this basis that each vessel, according to its purity or impurity, received a place in this world, or a country, or a condition of birth, or some kind of activity. God, by the power of His Wisdom, foresees and recognizes all this even to the smallest, and by the management of His judgment, through the most just reward, disposes of everything, how much everyone should be helped or taken care of, in accordance with his merit. In this (administration), of course, a full measure of justice is revealed, because the justice of reward according to deserts is preserved by the inequality of things. The merits of each individual being are truly and quite clearly known only by God alone, with the Only Begotten Son, the Word, and His Wisdom, and with the Holy Spirit. Chapter ten. About resurrection and judgment, about hellfire and punishments 1. The reasoning reminded us of the future judgment, and retribution, and punishments of sinners, in accordance with what the Holy Scripture threatens and what church teaching contains, namely, that at the time of judgment eternal fire and outer darkness, a prison and an oven, and other things like this are prepared for sinners; So, let's see what we need to think about these (punishments). But in order to approach this question in the proper order, it seems to me that we first need to talk about the resurrection, so that we know what exactly to receive punishment, or peace, or bliss. We discussed this subject in detail in other books we wrote about the resurrection; there we expressed our views on this subject. But even now, for the sake of consistency of reasoning, it seems not superfluous to repeat something from that work, especially in view of the fact that some, mainly heretics, are seduced by the church faith, (thinking) that we believe in the resurrection stupidly and completely unreasonably. I think they should be answered as follows. If they themselves confess that the resurrection of the dead exists, then let them answer us, what exactly died? Isn't it the body? This means that there will be a resurrection for the body. Then let them say whether we need to use bodies or not? I think they cannot deny that the body will be resurrected, or that in the resurrection we will use bodies, since the Apostle Paul says: “A spiritual body is sown, a spiritual body is raised” (1 Cor. 15:44). So what? If it is true that we must use bodies, and dead bodies, as (church teaching) preaches, will be resurrected (for in the proper sense, they say, only that which has died is resurrected), then, without a doubt, these bodies will be resurrected so that we will put on them again through the resurrection. One thing is connected with the other: if bodies are resurrected, then they are resurrected without a doubt in order to serve us as clothing; and if we need to be in bodies (and this, of course, is necessary), then we must not be in other bodies, but precisely in ours. If it is true that bodies are resurrected and, moreover, resurrected spiritually, then, undoubtedly, they rise from the dead, as they say, leaving corruption and putting aside mortality; otherwise, it seems, it will be vain and unnecessary for someone to rise from the dead - only to die again. This can be understood especially clearly if one carefully considers what is the property of the spiritual body, which, being sown into the ground, prepares with itself the property of the spiritual body - because, after all, the very power and grace of resurrection from the spiritual body produces the spiritual body, changing it from (the state of) dishonor to (the state of) glory. 2. Since heretics consider themselves the most learned and wisest people, we ask them whether every body has a certain schema (schema), that is, is it formed according to some (certain) form? And if they, of course, say that there is some kind of body that is formed without any form, then they will turn out to be the most ignorant and stupid of all people. In fact, this (teaching) would be denied only by a person completely alien to any education. If they say, as they should (say), that every body is formed according to some specific form, then we will ask them if they can indicate and describe to us the form of the spiritual body - and this, of course, they will not be able to do in any way. Ask them also about the differences between those (people) who are resurrected. How will they show the truth of the words of the Apostle, that “there is another flesh for the birds, and another for the fish, and another for the heavenly body, and another for the earthly body; There is another glory to the sun, another to the moon, and another to the stars; a star differs from a star in glory. So is the resurrection of the dead” (1 Cor. 15:39–42). So, according to this comparison (consequentiam) of the heavenly bodies (with the earthly), let them show us the differences in the glory of those who are resurrected; and if they in any way try to come up with some basis for the difference of the heavenly bodies, then we will require them to determine the differences in the resurrection also in comparison with the earthly bodies. As for us, we understand it this way. The Apostle, wanting to describe what the difference is between those who are resurrected in glory, that is, the saints, used a comparison with celestial bodies and said: “Other glory to the sun, another glory to the moon, another glory to the stars”; wanting to teach about the differences between those who will appear at the resurrection without being cleansed in this life, that is, about the differences between sinners, he takes earthly bodies as an example, and says: “there is one flesh for the birds, another for the fish”; and indeed, heavenly bodies are worthily compared with saints, and earthly bodies with sinners. - This is what needs to be said against those who deny the resurrection of the dead, that is, the resurrection of bodies. 3. Now we turn our speech to some of our own, who, either through poverty of mind or due to a lack of interpretation (of Scripture), affirm the most crude and base concept of the resurrection of the body. We ask them how they understand that the body must be changed by the grace of the resurrection and will be spiritual; How do they understand that (the body) sown in weakness will rise in power, and how can what is sown in humiliation rise in glory and (sown) in corruption how can it pass into (the state of) incorruptibility? Of course, if they believe the apostle that the body, having been resurrected in glory, power and incorruption, becomes spiritual, then it seems absurd and contrary to the apostle’s thought to say that this body will again be subject to the passions of flesh and blood, since the apostle clearly says that “flesh and blood will not inherit the kingdom of God, but corruption below will inherit incorruption” (1 Cor. 15:50). How do they also understand the words of the apostle “Let us all change?” (1 Cor. 15:51). We must expect that this change will in any case (occur) in accordance with the order that we indicated above: without a doubt, in this change we should hope for something worthy of divine grace; it will happen, we believe, in the same order in which, according to the apostle’s description, “God gives a naked grain of wheat or another grain sown into the ground as He desires” (1 Cor. 15:37-38), as soon as this grain of wheat dies. In the same way, we need to think, and our bodies, like grain, fall into the ground. But there is a force (ratio) invested in them - that force that contains the corporeal substance; This very power, which is always preserved in the bodily substance, according to the word of God, will raise from the earth, renew and restore bodies, although they have died, collapsed and disintegrated - (restore) just as the power (virtus) inherent in a grain of wheat, after decomposition and death, renews and restores the grain in the body of the stem and ear. And thus, for those who deserve to receive the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven, this power that renews the body, which we spoke about above, from the earthly and spiritual body, at the command of God, will restore a spiritual body capable of dwelling in heaven, while those who deserve the underworld, or rejection, or even the abyss and darkness, will be given the glory and dignity of the body in accordance with the dignity of the life and soul of everyone, and even those who must be condemned to eternal fire, or torment, the resurrected body, as a result of the very change through the resurrection, will become incorruptible, so that it will not be destroyed and disintegrate even from torment. But if this is the property of the body that will rise from the dead, then let us now see what the threat of eternal fire means. 4. In the prophet Isaiah we find an indication that everyone has his own fire with which he is punished. The prophet says: “Walk by the light of your fire and by the flame that you kindled” (Isaiah 50:11). These words seem to indicate that each sinner lights the flame of his own fire for himself, but does not plunge into some kind of fire that was already lit earlier (by someone else) or that existed before him. The matter and food for this fire are our sins, which the Apostle Paul calls wood, grass and straw (1 Cor. 3:12). It is known that excess of food and its unfavorable quantity and quality produce fevers, and, moreover, fevers of various types or durations, depending on the extent to which the intemperance allowed prepared the material and heat for the fever; this amount of matter, collected as a result of various intemperances, is the cause of either a more severe or weaker illness. So, I think, the soul collects in itself many evil deeds and an abundance of sins; at the proper time, this entire collection of evil is ignited for punishment and kindled for torment. Then the mind itself, or conscience, by divine power will reproduce in memory everything, some signs or forms of which the mind imprinted on itself when committing sins - (will reproduce) everything that it has done that is vile and shameful, or that has committed the wicked, and thus will see before its own eyes some history of its crimes. Then conscience itself will persecute and beat itself with its own pricks, and it itself will become its own accuser and witness. In my opinion, the Apostle Paul understood it this way; he says: “Between one another with a condemning or reproving mind, in the day when God judges the secret things of man, according to my gospel by Jesus Christ” (Rom. 2:15–16). From these words it is clear that the instruments of torment are formed around the very substance of the soul, (namely) from disastrous sinful moods 5 . 5. But so that the understanding of this subject does not seem quite difficult to you, you can discern it (understanding) from those disorders (illnesses) under the influence of passions that usually happen to souls, namely, when the soul is either burned by the flame of love or jealousy, or when it is dried up by the fire of envy, or is excited by anger, or is consumed by the greatest madness or sadness. (It is known that) some (people), feeling the unbearability of these excessive sufferings, found it more bearable to undergo death than to endure torments of this kind. So, consider: for these people who are subject to these sufferings from the vices that we spoke about above, and (who), while still in this life, could not acquire any correction for themselves, but departed from this world, is it enough for them, as a punishment, that they are tormented by these very moods remaining in them, that is, moods of anger, or rage, or madness, or sadness, the deadly poison of which was not weakened in this life by any remedy? Or, perhaps, their moods will change, and they will be tormented by the pricks of general punishment? But I think we can imagine another type of punishment. Just as the members of the body, separated and torn from their connections, produce, we feel, terrible and painful torment, so the soul, when it finds itself out of order and connection, or out of the harmony in which it was created by God for good deeds and fruitful feeling, will feel discord with itself in all its rational movements - it will bear, one must think, the punishment and torment of (this) discord with itself and will feel retribution for its inconstancy and disorder. When this division and discord of the soul is experienced (by it) in fire - as we understand it - then, without a doubt, (this) lays the foundation for a stronger connection and renewal. 6. There are many other things that are hidden from us and known only to the One who is the doctor of our souls. If, in order to recover the body from those diseases that we acquired through food and drink, we sometimes consider it necessary to treat with more or less severe and cruel means, and sometimes, if the quality of the disease requires it, we need the painful application of iron (rigore ferri) and painful cutting off (of the limbs). If the extent of the disease exceeds even these (remedies), then even fire burns out the disease that has developed to the extreme. Moreover, God, our physician, should also think that, wanting to destroy the illnesses of our souls received as a result of various sins and crimes, he uses similar punitive means and, moreover, even resorts to punishment by fire for those who have lost the health of the soul. Images of such punishments are also found in the Holy Scriptures. Thus, in Deuteronomy (Deut. 28) the word of God threatens sinners that they will be punished with fevers, chills, jaundice, and will suffer from eye convulsions, insanity, paralysis, blindness, and kidney weakness. If, therefore, someone at his leisure collects from all of Scripture all the indications of diseases that are mentioned when threatening sinners with the names of bodily diseases, he will find that these diseases figuratively designate either vices or punishments of souls. But what God does with (people) who have fallen and given over to sins is the same as doctors who give medicine to the sick in order to restore their health through treatment. Proof of this is also the command of the prophet Jeremiah to offer all nations the cup of God’s wrath, so that they drink, go mad and spew out (Jer. 25:15–16). There is also a threat here that if someone does not want to drink, he will not be cleansed. From here, of course, one can understand that the fury of God’s punishment serves as a means for the purification of souls. Punishment by fire must also be understood in the sense of a medical remedy; This is taught by Isaiah, who says this about Israel: “The Lord will wash away the filthiness of the daughters of Zion, and the blood of Jerusalem will cleanse him from among them through the spirit of judgment and the spirit of fire” (Isaiah 4:4). About the Chaldeans he says this: “Make coals of fire: sit on them, they will help you” (Is 47:14-15). And in another place he says: “The Lord will sanctify in blazing fire.” The prophet Malachi says: “The Lord will sit, boiling and cleansing, and the sons of Judah (Levi) will cleanse” (Malach. 3:3). 7. The Gospel says about unkind stewards that they must be cut up, and part of them (will) be placed with the infidels (Luke 12:14), - (i.e.) that part, which, as it were, is no longer their own, must be sent to another place. This (saying), without a doubt, indicates a special type of punishment for those in whom, as it seems to me, according to this instruction, the spirit should be separated from the soul. If this spirit must think divine by nature, that is, by the Holy Spirit, then we will understand this saying in relation to the gift of the Holy Spirit, namely: if someone, either through baptism or by the grace of the Spirit, was given the word of wisdom, or the word of knowledge, or (the word of) some other gift, and (this gift) was not used properly, that is, it was either buried in the ground, or tied in a scarf, then, of course, the gift of the Spirit will be taken away from the soul, the rest of the part, that is, the substance of the soul, detached and separated from the Holy Spirit, through the union with which it was supposed to become one spirit with the Lord, will be placed with the infidels. If we understand this (saying) not about the Spirit of God, but about the nature of the soul itself, then the best part of it will need to be called that which was created in the image and likeness of God, and the other part is that which was subsequently acquired through the fall of free will, contrary to the first-created pure nature; This very part, as friendly and amiable to matter, is punished with the fate of the infidels. But we can also indicate a third understanding of this (saying) about separation. With each of the faithful, even if he was the smallest (member) in the Church, there is, they say, an angel who, according to the Savior’s assurance, always sees the face of God the Father (Matthew 18:10–11), and, of course, this angel was one with the one whom he served; but if a person, as a result of disobedience, becomes unworthy, then the angel of God, they say, is taken away from him, and then a part of him, that is, a part of human nature separated from the part of God, will be with the infidels, since it did not invariably preserve the admonitions of the angel assigned to it by God. 8. Also, by external darkness, as I think, we need to understand not so much some dark air without any light, but rather the darkness of deep ignorance into which those who have deprived themselves of all light of knowledge will be plunged. We must also consider whether this saying (about outer darkness) cannot be explained in the following way. Just as through the resurrection the saints will receive their bodies, in which they lived holy and purely in the abodes of this life, bright and glorified, so perhaps all the wicked, who in this life loved the darkness of error and the night of ignorance after the resurrection, will be clothed in dark and black bodies, so that the same darkness of ignorance, which in this world controlled their inner thoughts, will manifest itself in the future world in the outer clothing of the body. We need to think about the prison in a similar way. But in the present place it is enough what has been said now, as briefly as possible, to preserve the order of speech. Chapter Eleven. About the promises 1. Now let's look briefly at what we need to think about promises as well. – It is known that no animal can remain completely idle and motionless, but craves all kinds of movements, constant activity and some kind of desire. I think it is clear that this nature is inherent in all living beings. It is all the more necessary for a rational animal, that is, human nature, to always be on the move and do something. Thus, if a person is not conscious of himself (immemor sui) and does not know what is appropriate for him, then, of course, all his attention is directed to bodily needs, and he, in all his movements, is busy with his lusts and bodily desires. If a person is such that he tries to take care of or oversee some public matter, then he uses his strength either to take care of the state, or to obey his superiors, or to something that in any case may be useful to society. And if a person understands something better than what corporeal beings appear to be, and is engaged in wisdom and knowledge, then, without a doubt, he has turned his diligence to studies of this kind in order to investigate the truth and know the causes and basis of things. Thus, in this life, one considers bodily pleasure to be the highest good, another considers concern for public affairs, and another considers the pursuit of science and knowledge. So, let us examine whether the same order or state of life will be for us (and) in that life, which is (life) true, which, as they say (in Scripture), is hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3) - that is, in eternal life? 2. Some, rejecting all labor of understanding (of Scripture), following (only) as it were the surface of the letter of the law, pleasing more to their own pleasure and lust, and being disciples of the letter alone, think that the promises are to be expected to consist of bodily pleasure and luxury; and that is why, mainly, not following the teaching of the Apostle Paul about the resurrection of the spiritual body (1 Cor. 15:44), after the resurrection they desire such bodies that would never be deprived of the ability to eat, drink and do everything that is characteristic of flesh and blood. To this they quite consistently add that after the resurrection there will be darkness and even the birth of children. They imagine that the earthly city of Jerusalem will then be restored, and precious stones will be laid at its foundation, walls will be built from jasper stone, fortifications from crystal stone, that a fence will also be built from selected and varied stones, that is, from jasper and sapphire, chalcedon and emerald, sardium and onyx, chrysaolite and chrysopaste, hyacinth and amethyst. They even think that to serve their pleasures they will be given foreigners who will be their ploughmen, builders of walls, and who will restore their destroyed and fallen city. They think that they will receive the wealth of the nations for their use and will possess their riches, so that even the camels of Midian and Kedar will come and bring them gold, incense and precious stones. And they try to confirm this with prophetic authority, namely with the promises written about Jerusalem, which say, for example, that those who serve the Lord will eat and drink, while sinners will hunger and thirst, that the righteous will rejoice, and sinners will be tormented by sorrow. From the New Testament they also cite the words of the Savior, containing a promise to the disciples about the enjoyment of wine: “I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until the day when I drink with you new in the kingdom of My Father” (Matthew 26:29). They also add that the Savior calls those who hunger and thirst now blessed, promising them that they will be satisfied (Matt. 5:6), and they cite many other testimonies from Scripture, not knowing that they are to be understood figuratively. Further, they think that according to the pattern of this life, according to the arrangement of virtues or ranks, or the advantages of power in this world, they will then be kings and princes, like real earthly ones (kings and princes) - they think on the basis that the Gospel says: “You will be over five cities” (Luke 19:19). To put it briefly, they want everything in the expected future life to be exactly like the present life, that is, to again be what is. This is the opinion of those who, although they believe in Christ, understand the divine Scriptures in a Jewish way and in these (promises) do not find anything worthy of the divine promises. 3. But those who understand the speculation of the Scriptures according to the mind of the apostles, they, of course, hope that the saints will eat, but - the bread of life, feeding the soul with the food of truth and wisdom - (bread of life), which will enlighten the mind and drink from the cup of divine wisdom, as the divine Scripture says: “Wisdom has prepared her table, sacrificed her sacrificial and dissolved her wine in the cup,” and with a loud voice he calls: “Turn to Me, eat the bread that I have prepared for you, and drink the wine that I have mixed for you” (Prov. 9:1-5). Filled with this food of wisdom, the mind will achieve the purity and perfection with which man was created at first, and will restore in itself the image and likeness of God. And although someone will come out of this life having learned very little, he will nevertheless carry with him praiseworthy deeds - he can be instructed in that heavenly Jerusalem, the city of saints, that is, he can be taught and educated, and can become a living stone, a precious and chosen stone, for having courageously and with constancy endured the trials of life and deeds of piety. And there he quite truly and clearly understands the meaning of the words proclaimed here, that “man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Deut. 8:3). By princes and rulers we must understand those who govern the lower ones, guide and instruct them in the divine. 4. But to people who hope for those (sensual promises), it still seems that these (spiritual promises) impose on the minds a less worthy desire, in view of this - although the desire for these spiritual goods is natural and innate to the soul - however, we will repeat a little and (still) examine (this question) in order to thus, in the form of consistent speculation, depict, so to speak, the very types of the bread of life and the quality of that wine, as well as the property of the principalities. In arts usually performed by hand, the idea of ​​what, how and for what use is done is in the mind, and the work is done with the help of the hands. We must also think about the works of God, which were accomplished by God: the meaning and understanding of what, as we see, was created by Him, remains a mystery in them. Likewise, when our gaze sees the work of an artist and notices something done especially skillfully, the soul immediately longs to know how, in what manner and for what purpose it was made. But much and incomparably more, the soul burns with an inexpressible thirst to know the meaning of what, as we see, was created by God. And we believe that this desire, this love, without a doubt, is invested in us by God. And just as the eye by nature seeks light and sight, just as our body by nature feels the need for food and drink, so our mind has a natural and natural desire to comprehend the truth about God and to know the causes of things. But we did not receive this desire from God so that it should never and could not find satisfaction for itself, otherwise, that is, if (the mind) never achieves the fulfillment of (its) desire, one will have to think that the Creator God put the love of truth into our mind in vain. Therefore, people who in this life have devoted themselves with the greatest diligence to pious and religious pursuits, receive, it is true, only a little of the numerous and immeasurable treasures of divine knowledge, but they benefit themselves greatly by the very fact that they occupy their souls and minds with these (subjects) and develop this desire in themselves - they receive great benefit because they develop in their souls zeal and love for the study of truth and more or less prepare their souls for the assimilation of future teaching. In the same way, whoever wants to draw a picture first lightly outlines the lines of the future image in a thin style and makes signs in advance for the faces that will need to be painted (on the picture), and this preliminary image, applied in the form of a light sketch, no doubt turns out to be more or less prepared for the perception of real colors. In the same way, on the tablets of our hearts a light image and preliminary drawing is drawn in the style of our Lord Jesus Christ. That is why, perhaps, it is said that “to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have more” (Matthew 25:29 and Luke 19:26). From this it is clear that those who have in this life some destiny of truth and knowledge should be given the beauty of a finished image in the future life. 5. In my opinion, it was precisely this desire that was indicated by the one who said: “I am determined by both, my desire to be resolved and to be with Christ, which is much better” (Phil. 1:23). He knew that, having returned to Christ, he would clearly learn the meaning of everything that is done on earth - he would learn about man, and about the soul of man, and about the mind, he would learn what the spirit acting in each of them is, and also what the life spirit is, and what the grace of the Holy Spirit is, given to the faithful. Then he learns what Israel is, what the difference between nations is, what the twelve tribes of Israel mean, and what each individual nation means in its different tribes. Then he will also understand the meaning of the sacrifices and Levites and the meaning of various sacred institutions, he will also learn whose image was in Moses, and what is the true meaning before God of jubilees and Sabbath years, and will also see the meaning of solemn and holiday days and will discern the reasons for all the sacrifices and purifications; he will also learn what is the meaning of cleansing from leprosy, and what are the different types of leprosy, and what is the meaning of cleansing those suffering from the discharge of semen. He will also learn what good forces are, how many there are and what they are, and likewise, what the opposite forces are, and what kind of love for people they have, and stubborn envy for others. He learns what is the essence (ratio) of souls, what is the difference between animals - and those living in the waters, and birds, and beasts - and what the division of each genus into so many species means - he learns what the Creator's intention was in this, and what thought of His wisdom is hidden in all this. He will also learn why certain powers are attracted by some roots or herbs, while other roots or herbs, on the contrary, are driven away; he will also learn what the nature of the fallen angels is, and what is the reason that they can seduce and mislead and seduce those who did not fight against them with full faith. He will also study the judgment of divine providence about each individual being, (it is he who will understand) that what happens to people does not happen by chance or by chance, but for some reason, so fundamental and sublime that even the number of hairs not only of saints, but perhaps of all people depends on it - and this providence even extends to sparrows, which are sold at a denarius per pair and which can be understood in any way - either spiritually or literally. In general, now we are still just looking, but then we will see clearly. Based on all this, it should be thought that, by the way, a lot of time will pass until the worthy and deserving are shown, after their departure from life, the meaning of even earthly things, so that they can enjoy inexpressible joy, through the knowledge of all this and under the influence of the grace of complete knowledge. Further, he will find out whether that air that is between heaven and earth is really not without living beings and, moreover, intelligent beings, as the apostle said: “In them you sometimes walk, according to the age of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit, who now works in the sons of disobedience” (Eph. 2:2), and also says: “We will be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and so We will always be with the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:17). 6. So, one must think that the saints will remain there until they acquire a twofold knowledge of the way to control what is happening in the air. I said: double knowledge, this means the following. While we were on earth, we saw, for example, animals or trees and observed their differences, as well as a very large difference between people; however, seeing this (difference), we did not understand the basis of all this; the diversity we saw prompted us only to investigate and find out why all this was created differently or governed differently. But since zeal and love for knowledge of this kind arose in us on earth, after death we will be given (the very) knowledge and understanding of this (diversity) - if only (in general) the deed can come from desire. So, when we fully comprehend the basis of this (diversity), then we will have a twofold knowledge of what we see on earth. The following should also be said about the air location. I think that the saints, having left this life, will remain in a certain place on earth, that place which the Divine Scripture calls paradise, this place will be, as it were, some place of teaching, so to speak, an auditorium, or a school of souls, where souls will learn about everything that they saw on earth, and will also receive some instructions about the next and the future, just as while in this life they partly perceived some revelations about the future, although as if through a mirror and in the form of riddles - about the future, which is revealed with complete clarity in its place and in its time. Whoever is pure in heart and blameless in mind and has a more or less developed mind, moving forward relatively quickly, will soon reach an airy place and, so to speak, through the abodes of various places will reach the kingdom of heaven. As for the abodes, the Greeks, as is known, called them spheres, that is, balls, and the Divine Scripture calls them heavens. In each of these (heavens) the saint, firstly, will see what is happening there, and, secondly, he will also recognize the reason why this is being done this way. And thus he will pass through the heavens in order, following Jesus, the Son of God, who has passed through the heavens, who says: “I will that where the seven Az, and these also, may be with Me” (John 17:24). He also points out these differences in places when he says: “In My Father’s house are many mansions” (John 14:2). He Himself is everywhere and penetrates (percurrit) everything; and we should no longer imagine Him in the humiliation that He accepted with us for our sake, that is, in the limitation that He had in our body on earth, being among people - we should not think that He is confined in any one place. 7. So, when the saints reach, for example, heavenly places, then they will understand the essence (ratio) of each luminary and will know whether they are animated and what they are. There they will also understand other reasons for the works of God, which God Himself will reveal to them. As if to children, He will show (them) the causes of things and the power of His creation, and He will teach them why such and such a star is placed in such and such a place in the sky, and why it is separated from another star by a certain space, and what would happen if, for example, it were closer (to this other star), and what would happen if it were further away from it; or why would not the universe remain the same, but everything would take on a slightly different shape, if one star were larger than the other? Having thus gone through everything that concerns the knowledge of the luminaries and their conversions taking place in the sky, the saints will move on to what we do not see, or to what is now known to us only by name, and to the invisible. The Apostle Paul teaches that beings of this kind are numerous (Eph. 1:20–21), but what they are and what difference they have, we cannot make any reasonable assumption about this. Thus, the rational being will gradually increase - not as it grew in this life, in the flesh, or in body and soul, but (so that) a perfect mind, with enriched thought and feeling, will approach perfect knowledge, while the mind will no longer be hindered by these bodily senses, but, enriched by mental increments, will always contemplate the causes of things with complete clarity and, so to speak, face to face. Then he will possess, firstly, the perfection thanks to which he achieved this state, and, secondly, the one in which he remains, and the food with which he will feed will serve him with contemplation and knowledge of things and an understanding of their causes. It is known that in this life our bodies first grow physically into the same thing that we represent ourselves (later), and, at the first age, a sufficient amount of food gives us an increase, and after the height of growth reaches its measure, we no longer eat food in order to grow, but in order to live and maintain life through nutrition. In the same way, in my opinion, the mind, even having achieved perfection, still feeds and uses its own and appropriate food without any deficiency or excess. But, in any case, this food, one must think, is nothing other than the contemplation and knowledge of God, and it has measures peculiar to it and corresponding to the created and created nature, and everyone who begins to see God, that is, to know (Him) with a pure heart, should observe these measures. Chapter one. About free will. Resolution and explanation of the sayings of scripture that seem to reject it 1. This is what we believe we should think about the divine promises when we direct our thoughts to the contemplation of that eternal and endless age and contemplate the inexpressible joy and bliss thereof. But in church sermons there is also a teaching about the future righteous judgment of God; faith in judgment calls and convinces people to a good and wonderful life and to avoid sin in every possible way, and this, without a doubt, indicates that a praiseworthy or criminal life is in our power. For this reason, I consider it necessary to set forth a brief doctrine also about the freedom of our will, so that many will no longer discuss this issue in an unworthy manner. But in order to more easily find out what free will is, we will examine what will itself is by nature. 2. Of all moving objects, some have reasons for their movements. themselves, others receive (motion) from the outside. Thus, only from the outside do all lifeless objects (sine vita) receive movement, for example, stones, logs and all other similar objects that have only their own special material or bodily form. (Now, of course, we must leave aside the opinion that considers (motion) even the movement that occurs during the destruction of bodies due to some kind of damage, because this is not at all relevant.) Other objects have a cause of motion in themselves, for example, animals, trees and all objects that have natural life or soul. Some also include metal veins here. One must think that fire also has its own movement, and perhaps also sources of water. Of these objects, which have the cause of their movements in themselves, some are said to move from themselves, and some from themselves; they are divided as follows: living objects move from themselves, but not animate ones, while animate objects move from themselves, since they are characterized by imagination, i.e. some desire and urge that causes them to move or strive for something. Some animals have such imagination, i.e. desire or feeling - which directs and impels them by some natural urge (instinctu) to orderly and harmonious movements. This is how we see how spiders work, whose imagination, i.e. a certain disposition and inclination towards the fabric (web) induces them to do the weaving work most correctly, and such a desire, no doubt, is caused by some natural attraction. But, apart from the natural inclination to weave, this animal, as it turns out, has no other sense, just as bees have only an inclination to build honeycombs and collect, as they say, airy honey. 3. But a rational animal, having in itself these natural drives, also has, above other animals, the power of reason, with the help of which it can discuss and recognize natural drives and disapprove and reject some (of them), while others can approve and accept. Through the judgment of this reason, a person can control (his) inclinations and direct them to a praiseworthy life. But since the nature of this reason inherent in man has in itself the power to distinguish between good and evil, and with this discrimination the ability to choose what it approves is inherent in reason, it follows that by choosing the good, (a person) is rightly recognized as worthy of praise, and by following the shameful and evil, worthy of punishment. In no case should we hide the fact that in some dumb animals, for example, sensitive dogs and military horses, a special orderliness of movements is noticed, compared with other animals, so that for some it seems that they are driven by some kind of rational feeling. But one must think that this is accomplished not so much with the help of reason, but under the influence of some impulse and natural attraction, with which (these animals) are gifted to the highest degree precisely for such actions. But we started talking about an intelligent animal. So, we, people, can come across or encounter from the outside, whether by hearing, or by sight, or by other senses, many things that prompt and attract us either to good or to opposite movements. Since (all) this affects us from the outside, it is, of course, not in our power that these influences should not be encountered or come across to us. But to discuss and approve how we should use these external influences is the business of no one else but our inherent reason; this is subject to our decision. Based on the decision of this reason, we use external influences to (achieve) what reason itself approves, and our natural inclinations, with its wave, are directed either to the good or to the opposite. 4. If anyone says that the external influences that cause our movements are such that it is impossible to resist these influences - whether they prompt us to good or to evil - then the one who thinks so should turn his attention to himself for a short time and more carefully examine his own movements: then he will find that when any desire appears, nothing is done before the consent of the soul is given, before the consent of the mind is given to the evil instigation; Thus, every probable (i.e., not yet decided) case seems to receive one or another statement, as it were, from a judge sitting on the tribunal of our heart, and the verdict regarding the action is pronounced by the court of reason on the basis of previously ascertained reasons. If, for example, someone decided to live abstinently and purely and refrain from any intercourse with women, and a woman appears to him, urging and tempting him to do something contrary to his decision, then for this person the woman does not serve as a perfect and unconditional cause or necessity of the crime; remembering his decision, he can, of course, curb the excitement of lust and restrain sensual irritation by the strictest reprimands of virtue, so that all intemperate feeling will disappear, and the firmness and constancy of the decision will be preserved. If, for example, such irritations happen to some men, learned and strong in divine instructions, then they despise and reject all the charms of excitement, constantly remembering themselves, bringing to mind what they previously thought about and learned, and strengthening themselves with the help of sacred teaching, thus they drive out nasty lustful desires, opposing them with the power of their inherent reason. 5. But if, so to speak, natural evidence proves that this is so, then, of course, it is unreasonable to attribute the causes of our actions to external influences and lay the blame on us, in which (in fact) the whole reason (of these actions) lies; it is unreasonable to say that we are like logs and stones that do not have any movement within themselves, but receive the reasons for their movement from the outside. This view of man is, of course, expressed incorrectly and inappropriately, but is invented only in order to reject free will; it is permissible only if we begin to think that free will is exercised when no external influence prompts us to good or evil. If anyone attributes the reasons for actions to the immoderation of the body, then this opinion obviously goes against the rationality of any teaching. After all, we see that very many people at first lived intemperately and immoderately and were given over to excess and lust, but then, called to better things by the word of teaching and instruction, they experienced such a change that from intemperate and vile they became sober and the most pure and meek; on the other hand, we see that in other people, quiet and respectable, good morals are corrupted by bad conversations (1 Cor. 15:33), under the influence of communication with restless and vile people, and they become the same as the most indecent people; and this sometimes happens (to them) already in mature manhood, so that in their youth they lived more abstinently than when older age gave (them) the opportunity to live a freer life. So, the consistency of thought shows that external influences are not in our control; but whether we use external influences well or badly is in our power, since our inherent reason considers and decides how to use them. 6. Living righteously or less righteously is our business, and we are not forced to do so by either external influences or fate, as some people think. In order to confirm this conclusion of reason with the authority of the Scriptures, the prophet Micah will present evidence to us, speaking in these words: “O man! It has been told to you what good is, and what the Lord requires of you: to act justly, to love acts of mercy.” And Moses says this: “Today I have set before you life and good, death and evil, so that you may choose good and walk in it.” Isaiah says this: “If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the earth. But if you deny and persist, the sword will devour you: for the mouth of the Lord speaks.” And in the Psalms it is written like this: “Oh that my people would listen to Me, and Israel would walk in My ways! I would quickly humble their enemies, and turn My hand against their oppressors.” With these words (the psalmist) shows that it was in the power of the people to listen and walk in the ways of God. Likewise, the Savior says: “But I tell you, do not resist evil.” And: “everyone who is angry with his brother without cause is subject to judgment,” and again: “everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” By giving these and various other commandments, the Savior shows nothing more than that the possibility of fulfilling these commandments is in our power. And therefore we rightly become guilty of the court if we violate what, of course, we could have fulfilled. That is why the Savior Himself says: “I will liken everyone who listens to My words and does them to a wise man who built his house on the rock; but everyone who listens to these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand,” etc. Also His words to those standing at His right hand: “Come, ye blessed of My Father,” etc., “for I was hungry, and you gave Me food; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink." These words clearly show that in the people themselves lies the reason why some became worthy of praise, fulfilling the commandments and receiving promises, while others became worthy of punishment and heard and received the opposite, because it is said to them: “Depart from Me, you cursed, into eternal fire.” Let us also see how the Apostle Paul speaks to us, as to (people) who have the power of self-determination and in themselves have the causes of either salvation or destruction: “Or,” he says, “do you despise the riches of the goodness, meekness and long-suffering of God, not realizing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But, due to your stubbornness and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath and revelation of righteous judgment from God, who will reward everyone according to his deeds: to those who, by constancy in good deeds, seek glory, honor and immortality - eternal life; and to those who persist and do not submit to the truth, but indulge in unrighteousness - rage and anger. Sorrow and distress for every soul of a person who does evil, firstly for the Jew, then for the Greek.” In the Holy Scriptures you will find countless other sayings that clearly show that we have the power of free will. Otherwise, if we do not have the ability to fulfill the commandments, it would be absurd to give them to us so that we could either be saved by fulfilling them, or be condemned for breaking them. 7. But in the divine Scriptures themselves there are some such expressions, on the basis of which, apparently, one can think something to the contrary. Therefore, we will bring them, discuss them according to the rule of piety and present their resolution, so that from these few sayings that we interpret, the solution to other similar sayings, which apparently exclude free will, will be clear. Thus, many are confused by what God said about Pharaoh. God very often said: “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart.” After all, if Pharaoh is hardened by God and sins precisely as a result of this hardening, then he himself no longer serves as the cause of sin for himself. But if this is so, then, apparently, the pharaoh does not have free will, and then this example can consistently prove that other perishing (people) do not find the cause of death in the free will of their own. In the same way, Ezekiel says: “And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My commandments and keep My statutes.” These words may confuse someone, because both walking in His commandments and keeping His justifications are apparently given by God, since God Himself takes away the stony heart that hinders the keeping of the commandments, and sends and puts in a better and more sensitive heart, called in the above passage the heart of flesh. Look also at what the Lord and Savior says in the Gospel to those who asked Him why He spoke to the people in parables. He said: “They look with their own eyes and do not see; they hear with their own ears and do not understand, lest they convert, and their sins be forgiven.” The Apostle Paul also says: “pardon does not depend on the one who wills, nor on the one who runs, but on God who has mercy.” And in another place: “For it is God who works in you both to will and to do according to His good pleasure.” “So he has mercy on whomever he wants; and he hardens whomever he wants. You tell me: what else are you accusing me of? For who can resist His will? Also: “faith is from the one who calls, not from us. And who are you, man, that you argue with God? Will the product say to the one who made it: why did you make me like this? Does not the potter have power over the clay, so that from the same mixture he can make one vessel for honorable use, and another for low?” These and similar sayings, it seems, can frighten a lot of people and lead to the idea that not a single person has free will, but, apparently, everyone is saved and perishes according to the will of God. 8. Let us begin, then, with what was said to Pharaoh, who, they say, was hardened by God not to let the people go; At the same time, we will consider the apostolic saying: “He has mercy on whomever he wants; but he hardens whomever he wants.” Heretics mainly rely on these words when they say that salvation is not in our power, but souls by nature are such that they either perish or are saved, and the soul of an evil nature cannot in any way become good, and the soul of a good nature cannot become evil. Since, they further say, Pharaoh was of a lost nature, that is why he is hardened by God, who hardens people of earthly nature, but has mercy on people of spiritual nature. So, let us consider what their position is, and, first of all, we ask them: let them answer us, do they admit that Pharaoh was of an earthly nature, which they call lost? Without a doubt, they will answer: yes, earthly. But if he was of an earthly nature, then due to the opposition of nature he could not believe God or obey Him at all. If this disobedience was inherent in him by nature, then why is it necessary to harden his heart, and this not just once, but often? Apparently it was possible to convince him; After all, they say, only those who were not cruel themselves become cruel to others. But if he was not cruel in himself, then, consequently, he was not of an earthly nature, but was such that, struck by signs and forces, he could yield. God needed Pharaoh in order to show him His Power for the salvation of many, while he resisted numerous signs and resisted the will of God, and as a result his heart, as the Scripture says, became hardened. This is said against heretics primarily in order to destroy their position that Pharaoh was lost by nature. But in the same way we will argue against them about the words of the Apostle Paul. Who do you think God is hardening? Of course, those whom you call lost by nature, but who, I think, would do something else if they were not hardened. If they come to destruction as a result of bitterness, then they no longer perish by nature, but by random circumstances. Then tell us, whom does God have mercy on? Of course, those who must be saved. But why is this second pardon necessary for those who should be saved by nature and achieve bliss in a natural way? From this it is clear that they could have perished and that is why they receive pardon, so that, in this way, they would not perish, but would achieve salvation and take possession of the kingdom of the pious. This is said against those who in their fabulous inventions introduce good and evil, i.e. earthly and spiritual natures, and they say that it is thanks to one or another nature that everyone is either saved or perishes. 9 . Now we also need to answer those who consider the God of the law to be only just, but not good. Why and for what purpose do they think God hardens Pharaoh's heart? At the same time, we must preserve the view and idea of ​​God, according to our teaching, just and good, and in their opinion, only just. So, let them show us whether God, whom they themselves confess to be righteous, acts justly, does He act justly when he hardens the heart of a person, so that as a result of this hardening he sins and perishes? And how can the truth of God be protected in this case, if God Himself was the cause of the death of those whom He later condemned with the authority of a judge because, due to their bitterness, they became of little faith? Why else does He accuse Pharaoh, saying: “Because you do not want to let My people go, behold, I will strike all the firstborn in Egypt and your firstborn,” and so on, which according to the Scriptures God spoke to Pharaoh through Moses? Anyone who accepts the messages of the Holy Scriptures as true and wants to prove that the God of the law and the prophets is just, must consider all this - how does this not at all destroy the righteousness of God? After all, although they deny the goodness of God, they confess Him as a just judge and creator of the world. But we must respond differently to those who recognize the Creator of this world as evil, i.e. the devil. 10. But we confess God, who spoke through Moses not only to the righteous, but also to the good. Let us consider more carefully how it is fitting for a righteous and good person, as they say, to harden the heart of Pharaoh. And (first of all) let's see if we, following the Apostle Paul, can resolve the difficulty in this matter with some examples and similarities? Is it not possible, for example, to show that by one and the same action God has mercy on one and hardens another, and He Himself does not carry out the hardening and does not want the one being hardened to become hardened: but while God uses His condescension and patience, some, under the influence of this condescension and patience of God, come to disdain and insolence, and while the punishment for the crime is postponed, their hearts become hardened, while others use the condescension and patience of God. God's patience for their repentance and correction and receive pardon. But to prove more clearly what we are saying, let us take the example used by the Apostle Paul in the Epistle to the Hebrews, saying: “The land that has drunk the rain that often comes upon it and produces grain useful to those for whom it is cultivated receives a blessing from God. But the one that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is close to a curse, the end of which is burning.” From the above words of Paul it is clearly evident that under the influence of one and the same action of God, by which God gives rain to the earth, one land, carefully cultivated, bears good fruit, while another, carelessly not cultivated, produces thorns and thistles. And if someone, speaking as if on behalf of the rain, says: “I, the rain, have brought forth good fruit, but I have also brought forth thorns and thistles,” then although this is apparently said rudely, it is nevertheless said correctly: because if there had been no rain, then neither fruit nor thorns and thistles would have been born, and when it rains, then the earth produces both. But although the earth produced one and the other sprout thanks to the rain, the difference in growth cannot justly be attributed to the rain: the blame for bad sowing should rightly be attributed to those people who could have dug up the earth with a frequent plow, turned over the hard blocks with heavy rakes, cut out and hewed all the useless roots of harmful grass and prepared steam for future rains, having cleared and cultivated it in all the ways that this cultivation requires - they could, but neglected to do all this, they and They will reap fruits that are entirely appropriate to their laziness—thorns and thistles. Thus it happens that the goodness and justice of the rains descends equally on every land, but with the same action of the rain, the land cultivated by diligent and skillful farmers brings useful fruits with blessing; the earth, hardened as a result of the negligence of farmers, brings thorns and thistles. So, let us assume that the signs and powers that came from God were, as it were, rains sent to the earth by God, while the disposition and desires of people, let us assume, constitute the earth, cultivated or uncultivated, land, of course, of the same nature (since every earth has the same nature with another earth), but not of the same cultivation. From here it happens that the will of each (person), under the influence of the powers and miracles of God, either hardens and becomes even more rough and thorny, if it is an uncultivated, wild and rough will, or it humbles itself even more and completely surrenders to obedience, if it has previously been cleansed of vices and educated. 11. But for a clearer proof of the subject it would not be superfluous to take another comparison. If, for example, someone were to say that the sun both dries and melts, then, although drying and melting are opposites, what was said would not be false, because the sun, as is known, with the same power of its heat melts wax, and dries and compresses dirt. This does not depend on the fact that the power of the sun acts differently in mud and differently in wax, but on the fact that the quality of mud is one, and the quality of wax is different, although by nature (these objects) are one, because both are from the earth. In the same way, the same action of God, which was performed through Moses in signs and powers, in Pharaoh exposed his cruelty, which developed in him as a result of the tension of his anger, while in the rest of the Egyptians who joined the Israelites, it revealed submission; These Egyptians, according to Scripture, came out of Egypt along with the Jews. However, it is written that Pharaoh's heart softened somewhat, so that he sometimes said: “Do not go far, go three days, but leave your wives, and your children, and your livestock,” and so on, this apparently shows that he was to some extent tamed under the influence of signs and powers. From these testimonies nothing more can be seen than that the power of signs and wonders had some effect on him, but did not act as much as was necessary: ​​For if the bitterness had been such as very many people believe it to be, then, of course, he would not have been tamed in the slightest degree. As for the image, or figure of speech, written about bitterness, I think (this image) can be explained by ordinary word usage, and this does not seem to be at all stupid. Often, condescending masters usually say to those slaves who, due to the great patience and meekness of their masters, become too impudent and spoiled: “I made you like this, I spoiled you, with my patience I made you completely bad, I am the reason for this so rude and bad habit of yours, because I do not immediately punish you for every guilt according to your actions.” In general, we must first notice the image or figure of speech and then understand the meaning of the saying, and not slander a word whose internal meaning we have not (yet) carefully explained. Finally, the Apostle Paul, obviously touching on a similar question, says to a person who is in sin: “Or do you despise the riches of God’s kindness, meekness and long-suffering, not realizing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But, due to your stubbornness and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath and revelation of righteous judgment from God.” This is what the apostle says to a man who is in sin. Let us turn these same words to Pharaoh, and see if you find that they apply to Pharaoh as well? Due to his cruelty and unrepentant heart, he collected and hid his anger for the day of wrath, and his cruelty could never have been so exposed and revealed if such numerous and majestic signs and wonders had not been performed. 12. If the evidence we have given seems insufficiently complete, and the confirmation by the apostolic comparison seems little convincing, then we will also add concordant prophetic testimony and see what the prophets proclaim about those people who at first lived righteously and were deemed worthy to receive many manifestations of God’s favor, but later, as people, sinned. Uniting himself with them, the prophet says: “Why, Lord, have you allowed us to stray from your ways, to harden our hearts, so as not to fear you? Turn for the sake of Your servants, for the sake of the tribes of Your inheritance. For a short time the people of Thy sanctuary possessed it.” In the same way, Jeremiah says: “You have drawn me, O Lord, and I have been drawn. You are stronger than me - and you prevailed." The words (Isa) that “I allowed our hearts to harden so as not to fear You,” spoken by people who prayed for mercy, of course, should be understood in a moral sense, as if someone said: why did You spare us to such an extent and did not punish us when we sinned, but left us so that through this evil would increase and, in the absence of punishment, the possibility of sin would continue? This is how a horse deteriorates if it does not feel either the iron spur of a diligent rider or the friction of the iron bit in its mouth. So, if a boy is not treated with constant beatings, he becomes an arrogant and at the same time prone to vices young man. And so God neglects those whom he recognizes as unworthy of correction: “For the Lord punishes whomever he loves, and beats every son whom he receives” (Heb. 12:6). Therefore, one must think that those who have been worthy of scourging and correction from the Lord are already accepted into the ranks of sons and are worthy of (God’s) love, so that, having endured temptations and sorrows, they themselves can say: “Who will separate us from the love of God: tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or hunger, nakedness, or danger, or the sword?” (Rom. 8:35). Through all these (temptations) the disposition of each is revealed and revealed and the firmness of constancy is indicated not so much for God, who knows everything before it is done, but for the rational and heavenly powers, which, as we know, received the lot to take care of human salvation as some helpers and servants of God. Those who do not yet offer themselves (as a sacrifice) to God with such constancy and with such love and, starting to serve God, have not yet had time to prepare their souls for temptation, these, as they say, are abandoned by God, i.e. they do not learn because they are not ready to learn, and their correction or healing, no doubt, is postponed until a later time. They, of course, do not know what they will receive from God if they do not first come to the desire to receive a benefit; but this will happen only when someone first recognizes himself, feels what he lacks, and understands from whom he should or can find what he lacks. And whoever has not previously known his weakness and illness does not consider it necessary to seek a doctor, or, having regained health, will not be grateful to the doctor, because he did not recognize the danger of his illness earlier. In the same way, whoever has not previously recognized the vices of his soul and his sinful infirmities and has not revealed (them) by confessing his lips, cannot cleanse himself and receive permission; otherwise he would not know that by grace he was given what he possesses, and he would consider divine mercy to be his own good; and this state, without a doubt, gives rise to arrogance of the soul and vanity and again becomes the cause of his fall. This is exactly how one should think about the devil: the advantages that he had, being blameless, he recognized as his own, and not given by God, and thus the saying was fulfilled on him, which says that “everyone who exalts himself will be humiliated.” That is why the divine secrets, it seems to me, are hidden from the wise and prudent, so that, as Scripture says, “so that no flesh should boast before God”; but they are open to infants or to those who first became children and infants, i.e. returned to the simplicity and humility of infants, and then began to prosper and, having achieved perfection, remember that they inherited bliss not through their own strength, but with the help of Grace and by the mercy of God. 13. So, whoever must be forsaken is forsaken according to the judgment of God, and God is patient with some sinners, but not without a certain reason. God turns this very long-suffering to the benefit of sinners, because the soul, which He cares for and provides for, is immortal, and the immortal and eternal, even if it is not quickly cured, is not, however, removed from salvation, which is (only) postponed until a more convenient time. And perhaps it is even useful for people more or less deeply infected with the poison of evil to receive (salvation) later. After all, doctors, although sometimes they can heal the scars of wounds very quickly, nevertheless postpone and delay real health for the sake of a better and more lasting recovery. They know that it is better to keep the swelling on the wounds longer and allow the pus to flow out for a while, rather than rush to a superficial cure and contain in the hidden veins the infection of harmful pus, which, being deprived of a free exit, will undoubtedly pass inside the members, penetrate into the most important vital members and cause not illness to the body, but the destruction of life itself. God acts in the same way. Knowing the secrets of the heart and foreseeing the future, he with great patience allows for the accomplishment of what, acting on people from the outside, can reveal and bring to light their passions and vices hiding inside, so that in this way people can be cleansed and healed, who, as a result of great negligence and carelessness, have accepted the roots and seeds of sins: thrown out and called to the surface, these sins can already be, as it were, cast out and digested, and, in In this case, even a person infected, apparently, with the most serious diseases, suffering from convulsions in all members, can still be freed from his illnesses, become fed up with evil, and thus, after much suffering, return to his (original) state. God rules souls, meaning not only this short time of our life, which consists of about sixty years or a little more, but an endless and eternal time; Himself eternal and immortal, He provides for immortal souls. For He created the rational nature to be incorruptible, creating it in His image and likeness; and therefore, being immortal, the soul is not deprived of divine care and healing, despite the short duration of this life of ours. 14. But let us also take from the Gospel those comparisons that confirm our words. The Gospel says that “there is some kind of rock with a small and insignificant amount of earth; if a seed falls on it, the latter will soon sprout”; but, having sprung up, the greenery, it is said, dies from the heat and dries up when the sun appears, because (the seed) has not taken root in the depths. This rock, without a doubt, means the human soul, hardened as a result of negligence and petrified under the influence of vice, because God did not create a stony heart for anyone, but, they say, everyone’s heart becomes stony as a result of malice and disobedience. So, if someone, seeing that seeds sown somewhere on rocky ground quickly sprouted, begins to scold the farmer for why he did not quickly sow the seeds in the rocky ground, then the farmer, of course, will say in response: “I sow this land later so that it can retain the seeds it has received; It is useful to sow such land later, otherwise the harvest that has risen too soon, staying on the surface of shallow soil, will not be able to withstand the heat of the sun.” Wouldn't the former critic agree with the reasonableness and experience of the farmer and wouldn't he praise how wisely something was done that previously seemed inconsistent to him? In the same way, God, the most skillful Farmer of all His creation, slows down and postpones, without a doubt, until another time (the healing) of those creatures that, in our opinion, should receive recovery as quickly as possible - slows down so that their surface is not healed more than their insides. But perhaps someone will object to this: why do some seeds fall on rocky ground, i.e. into some cruel and stony soul? To this objection, it must be said that this, of course, cannot happen without the provision of Divine providence, for only through this is it known what kind of condemnation entails careless listening and improper order of research, only through this is it known how much benefit there is in teaching in order. It is from here that it happens that the soul is aware of its vice, condemns itself and consistently observes and gives itself up for work (on itself), i.e. she sees that first (she) needs to cut off her vices, and then move on to edification with knowledge. But just as souls are countless, so are their morals and intentions, as well as the various inclinations, desires and motivations of individual souls, countless, and this variety of them cannot in any case be comprehended by the human mind; therefore the art, skill and power of such government must be left to God alone. He alone can know the medicine for every soul and determine the time of healing. Thus God alone, as we have said, knows the ways of every mortal; He also knows in what way it was necessary to bring Pharaoh, who was first punished with the greatest executions and even brought to drowning in the sea, so that through Him the name of God would be glorified throughout the whole earth. However, one must think that God’s providence for Pharaoh, of course, did not end with this drowning, because having drowned Pharaoh - one must think - did not die at the same time substantially: “into His hand are our words, and all our understanding, and our deeds of art,” as Scripture says. This is what we said, to the best of our ability, considering that chapter of Scripture where it is said that God hardened the heart of Pharaoh, as well as the words (of the apostle): “He has mercy on whomever He will; but he hardens whomever he wants.” 15. Now consider what Ezekiel states when he says: “And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My commandments and keep My statutes.” If God, when He wants, plucks out a heart of stone and gives it a fleshy one, so that His commandments are fulfilled and His commandments are preserved, then leaving vice, apparently, is not in our power, for taking away a heart of stone seems to mean nothing more than that God cuts off from whomever He wants the vice that hardens someone; in the same way, the investment of a carnal heart so that a person walks in the commandments of God and keeps the commandments of God means nothing more than that a person becomes obedient, does not resist the truth and performs virtuous deeds. So, if God himself promises to do this and before he himself takes away the stony heart, we cannot free ourselves from it, then, therefore, leaving the vice is not in our power, but in the power of God. And again, if it does not depend on our activity that we have a heart of flesh, but this is the work of God alone, then a virtuous life, apparently, will not be our work, but entirely the work of God’s grace. Thus say those who wish to prove, on the basis of the testimony of divine Scripture, that nothing is in our power. But we will answer that these words of Ezekiel should be understood not in this way, but in the following way. Let us suppose that some inexperienced and unlearned person, either through someone's conviction, or prompted by competition with some intelligent people, realizes the dishonor of his ignorance and entrusts himself to someone from whom he hopes to receive careful instruction and proper teaching. If this person, previously stagnant in ignorance, with full attention, as we said, gives himself to the teacher and promises to obey (him) in everything, then the teacher, seeing the zeal of his intention, duly promises to rid him of all ignorance and impart knowledge to him: he promises to do this not to the student who refuses or resists, but to the student who is devoted and completely obedient. So the divine word promises to those who approach it to pluck out (from them) a heart of stone, but, of course, not from those who do not listen to it, but from those who accept the commandments of its teaching, just as in the Gospels we find that the sick approached the Savior, asking for health, and were thus healed. And if, for example, the blind were healed and saw, then this healing is the work of those who were healed themselves, precisely in the sense that they asked the Savior and believed in the possibility of healing from Him; but it is the work of the Savior - in the sense that their sight is restored. In the same sense and in the saying under consideration, the divine word promises to give teaching through the removal of the heart of stone, that is, through the destruction of vice, so that through this (people) can walk in the divine commandments and keep the commandments of the law. 16. Then we suggested looking at the words of the Savior from the Gospel: “so they look with their own eyes and do not see; they hear with their own ears and do not understand, lest they convert, and their sins be forgiven.” Regarding these words, the enemy will say the following in response. Those people who will hear a clearer teaching will be completely corrected and converted, and moreover, they will be converted in such a way that they will become worthy to receive the forgiveness of sins; to hear clear teaching is not in their power, but to teach more or less openly and clearly, of course, is in the power of the teacher; at the same time, the teacher, in his own words, does not preach clearly to other people so that they do not hear, understand, convert and are saved: all this shows that salvation does not depend on people themselves. If this is so, then we have no power either in (our) salvation or in destruction. If the words of the Savior had not been added: “Let them not turn, and their sins be forgiven,” then it would be easier to answer (to this objection): then we would say that the Savior did not want people who, as he knew in advance, would not be good, to understand the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, and therefore spoke to them in parables, but now with this addition: “Let them not turn, and their sins be forgiven,” the interpretation becomes more difficult. And, first of all, we must pay attention to what a fortress this place can serve against heretics. They usually collect from the Old Testament those sayings in which, as it seems to them, based on their own understanding, something cruel and inhuman is attributed to God the Creator, where, for example, a feeling of revenge or retribution is depicted, in a word, something on the basis of which they deny Goodness in the Creator, no matter how they call it. But why don’t they judge the Gospels with the same thought and with the same feeling? Why don’t they notice that there are passages in the Gospels that they condemn or condemn in the Old Testament? Indeed, in this chapter, as they themselves say, it is clearly shown that the Savior did not speak clearly so that people would not convert and, having converted, would not receive forgiveness of sins. And, of course, if we understand this place only by the letter, then it will not be in the least inferior to those places that they condemn in the Old Testament. If they themselves think that such sayings found in the New Testament require interpretation, then it will be consistent and necessary to justify by a similar interpretation those sayings that they condemned in the Old Testament, in order to thus prove that what is written in both Testaments belongs to the same God. But let us turn, as far as we can, to the proposed research. 17. Earlier, when talking about Pharaoh, we said that sometimes a very quick cure does not lead to good, especially if the disease develops strongly in the internal members. Therefore, God, who knows mysteries, who knows everything before it is done, in His great mercy, delays the healing of such (people), continues healing for a very long time and, so to speak, heals them without healing, so that hasty healing does not make them incurable. So, it is possible that our Lord and Savior, through veiled speech, hid the testimony of the deepest mystery from those external to whom His word was, (hid) because, testing the hearts and wombs, He foresaw that they were not yet capable of perceiving the teaching in a clearer expression; otherwise, quickly turning and being healed, i.e. Having soon received the forgiveness of their sins, they would easily fall again into the same disease, which, as they experienced, was cured without any difficulty. If this (the second fall) occurs, then the punishment doubles and the abundance of evil multiplies, as is certain for everyone, because in this case not only sins, apparently abandoned, are repeated, but the very courtyard of virtue is desecrated if it is trampled upon by insidious and unclean thoughts, full of wickedness hidden within. And what medicine will ever be found for such people who, after the unclean and vile food of evil, tasted the sweetness of virtue, accepted its sweetness with their lips, and then again turned to the poisonous and deadly food of lewdness? And who will doubt that it is better for them to be removed and abandoned for a while? Perhaps someday they will be fed up with evil and will be horrified by the uncleanness that they now enjoy; then, finally, the word of God will be revealed to them in the proper way. And thus the holy thing will not be given to dogs, and pearls will not be thrown before swine, who trample them under foot and, moreover, turning around, attack those who preached the word of God to them and tear them apart. Such are the people called external, no doubt in comparison with those internal, who, as (Scripture) says, hear the word of God more clearly. However, those outside also hear the word, although it is covered with allegories and obscured by parables. But, besides the external ones, there are also other people called Tyrians; these do not hear (the word of God) at all, although even the Savior knew about them that once they would have repented, lying in dust and ashes, if miracles (virtute) had been performed among them, which were performed among others; and yet they do not even hear what outsiders hear, therefore I am sure that the category of these people is much lower and more indecent in evil than the category of the so-called outsiders, i.e. those who are still not far from the inner ones and who are worthy to hear the word, albeit in parables; in addition, perhaps their healing was intended at a time when on the day of judgment it would be more joyful for them than for those who had the described miracles performed: then, finally freed from the burden of their sins, they would easily and freely follow the path of salvation. But I wish to remind my readers that in dealing with such too difficult and dark places, we strive with the greatest zeal, not so much to find a completely clear solution to the questions, which everyone will do as much as the Spirit allows him to speak, but (mainly) to support the rule of piety with the clearest evidence; namely, we are trying to show that the providence of God, which justly governs everything, also governs immortal souls according to the fairest orders, in accordance with the merits and guilt of each: after all, the economy (dispensatio humana) about people does not lie within the limits of the life of this age, but the degree of previous merits always serves as the basis for a future state and, thus, by the immortal and eternal judgment of truth and the management of divine providence, the immortal soul is brought to the highest perfection. But someone will object to us as follows. If the word of preaching, as we say, is deliberately removed from people who are comparatively bad and worthless, then why was the word preached to those in comparison with whom (even) the Tyrians are preferred, who, as we know, were (however) neglected? Indeed, by this their misfortune was increased, and their condemnation was made more severe, because such people heard the word who could not believe. This seems to have to be answered as follows. God, the Creator of all minds, foresaw complaints against His providence mainly from those who say: how could we believe when we did not see what others saw, and did not hear what was preached to others? We are not at all to blame: after all, to whom the word was proclaimed and the signs were shown, they did not slow down at all, but believed, amazed by the very power of the miracles. Wanting to expose cases of such complaints and show that the reason for their destruction is not neglect on the part of Divine Providence, but the will of the human spirit, God bestowed the grace of his good deeds also on the unworthy and unfaithful, so that all lips would truly be stopped and the human mind would realize that it is not God who leaves him, but only he himself does not care about himself. And since one who despises the divine benefits shown to him is condemned more heavily than one who was not worthy to receive them or hear (about them), then at the same time (the human mind) must also understand and realize the following. If God sometimes hesitates to give (the opportunity) to some people to see or hear the secrets of divine goodness (virtutis), then this is a matter of divine mercy and His most just management; (this is done so that) they would not be punished with the most severe punishment for wickedness, if they, having seen the signs, learned and heard the secrets of the Wisdom of God, (subsequently) despised and neglected them. 18. Now let’s look at the words: “pardon does not depend on the one who wishes and not on the one who strives, but on God who has mercy.” Opponents say: if it is not the one who desires and strives that is saved, but the one whom God has mercy on, then salvation is not in our power; but either our nature is such that we can either be saved or not be saved, or salvation depends on the will of Him alone, who has mercy and saves if He wants. But we ask them first of all the following: is it good or evil to want good? And is it commendable to strive diligently to achieve a good goal? If they say that this is criminal, then, obviously, they will say nonsense, because all saints both wish good and strive for good, and yet they, of course, are not criminal. So, if the one who is not saved has an evil nature, then how does he want good and strive for good, but only does not find good? After all, they say that a bad tree does not bear good fruit; but the desire for good is good fruit; How does a bad tree produce good fruit? If they say that the desire for good and the desire for good are a middle matter, i.e. neither good nor evil; then we will tell them: if the desire for good and the desire for good is a middle matter, then it means the opposite of this, i.e. the desire for evil and the desire for evil will be indifferent. But the desire for evil and the desire for evil, as we know, are not indifferent: it is obviously evil. Thus, it is clear that the desire for good and the desire for good are not indifferent, but good. So, having reflected them with this answer, let us hasten to explain the task itself, which reads: “not from him who wills, and not from him who runs, but from God who has mercy.” In the Book of Psalms, in the songs of the degrees attributed to Solomon, it is written like this: “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain; If the Lord does not guard the city, the watchman watches in vain.” With these words (the psalmist), of course, does not indicate that we must stop building (houses) or vigilantly guarding our inner city, but shows that everything created without God, and everything protected without Him, is built in vain and is guarded without benefit; for in everything that is well built and well preserved, the Lord is the culprit of both creation and preservation. If, for example, we see some magnificent work and a beautiful, huge building, beautifully constructed, then don’t we say fairly and with dignity that this building was built not by human forces, but by divine strength and power? And yet this will not mean that diligent human labor and art remained idle and did absolutely nothing. Or let us also assume that we see some city surrounded by a heavy siege of enemies, we see that formidable machines are attached to its walls, it is (surrounded by) a rampart and is hit by arrows, fire and all military weapons that cause destruction. If the enemy could still be repulsed and put to flight (from this city), then we deservedly and rightly say that salvation for the liberated city was given by God. But by this we do not show that there was no guard of guards (in the city), there was no readiness for battle among the young men and no vigilance among the guards. In the same way, one must think, and the apostle said that to achieve salvation, human will alone is not enough and that the feat of a mortal is not suitable for reaching heaven and for receiving the reward of the highest calling of God in Christ Jesus, if this our good will, and readiness, and diligence, which may be in us, is not assisted and strengthened by divine help. And therefore the apostle very consistently said that “not from him who wills, nor from him who runs, but from God who shows mercy.” In a similar way we can say about agriculture in the words of Scripture: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase; therefore, he who plants and he who waters is nothing, but God who increases everything.” After all, if a field retains good and abundant fruits until full maturity, then no one will say piously and rationally that these fruits were produced by a farmer, but (everyone) admits that they were given by God. In the same way, our perfection, of course, is not achieved through our inactivity and idleness, but its completion should, however, be attributed not to us, but to God, Who is the first and main cause of (this) matter. Likewise, if a ship has overcome the dangers of the sea, then this circumstance depends, of course, on the great work of the shipbuilders, on the application of all naval art to the task, on the diligence and experience of the helmsman, as well as on the direction of the winds and careful observation of the constellations; however, when the ship, battered by the waves and weakened by the disturbances, safely reaches the harbor, then any sensible person will attribute the salvation of the ship to nothing other than the mercy of God. Even the shipbuilders themselves or the helmsman do not dare to say: I saved the ship, but they attribute everything to the mercy of God - not because they think that they themselves did not apply any skill or labor to saving the ship, but because, as they know, the work was from them, and the salvation of the ship was granted by God. So in the feat of our life, labor must depend on us, and we, for our part, must apply zeal and diligence; but salvation, this fruit of our deed, must be expected from God. Otherwise, if our work is not needed at all, the commandments will obviously be superfluous, then in vain Paul himself accuses some of them for falling away from the truth, and praises others for firmness in the faith, in vain he gives some instructions and regulations to the churches, in vain we wish for good or strive for it. But, of course, all this is not in vain, and the apostles, of course, do not give instructions in vain, and the Lord does not give laws without reason. So, it remains for us to proclaim that rather heretics slander good sayings in vain. 19. This was followed by a question regarding the words: “both will and deed” - from God. They say: if the will is from God and the action is from God, then whether we do good, bad or desire, this is from God. If this is so, then we do not have free will. The following should answer this. The apostle’s saying does not say that the desire for evil is from God, or that the desire for good is from God, nor that the accomplishment of good or evil is from God, but says in general that desire and action are from God. Just as we have from God that we are people, that we breathe and move, so we have from God what we desire. We can say this: the fact that we move is from God, or that the various members serve and move each according to their own purpose, this is from God. But this, of course, does not mean that it comes from God that, for example, a hand moves for unfair beatings or for theft. The very fact that it moves is from God; but to turn these movements, received by us from God, to good or to evil is our (business). In the same way, the apostle says that we receive willpower (from God), but we ourselves use the will in both good and evil desires. One should think about actions in a similar way. 22. But the apostle’s saying about vessels of honor and low, namely: “Whoever purifies himself will be a vessel of honor, sanctified and useful to the Master, fit for every good work” (2 Tim. 2:21) apparently does not posit anything in God, but everything in us; in the words: “Has not the potter power over the clay, that from the same mixture he may make one vessel for honorable use, and another for base use” (Rom. 9:21) - the apostle, apparently, refers everything to God. However, one should not think that these sayings contradict one another, but both thoughts should be reduced to one and one of the two understandings should be made. Precisely, on the one hand, we should not think that what is in our will can be accomplished without the help of God; on the other hand, we should not think that what is in the hand of God can be accomplished without our activity, zeal and disposition. To desire and do anything is in our will; but we must remember that the very possibility of volition or action was given to us by God, in accordance with the distinction that we spoke about above. Or, again, God makes some vessels for honorable use, others for low use; but the reasons for the honorable or low purpose (of vessels), as if some material for Him, one must think, are our desires, intentions and merits, on the basis of which He makes the vessel of each of us either honorable or low. Thus, the very inclination of the soul or the direction of the mind itself indicates to Him, from Whom the heart and thoughts of the spirit are not hidden, whether the vessel of this soul should be made honorable or base. But these feasible arguments about free will are enough for us. Chapter two. About opposing forces 1. Now we need to consider, on the basis of Scripture, how opposing forces or the devil himself are fighting the human race, calling and encouraging (people) to sin. And, first of all, in Genesis, as you know, it is described that the serpent seduced Eve. In “The Ascension of Moses” - this book is mentioned by the Apostle Jude in his letter - the Archangel Michael, arguing with the devil about the body of Moses, says that the serpent, having received inspiration from the devil, became the cause of the fall of Adam and Eve. Some also wonder who the angel is who spoke from heaven to Abraham: “For now I know that you fear God and have not withheld your son, your only son, for My sake” (Gen. 22.12). According to the clear description (in the given place) the one who spoke about himself that he knew that Abraham feared God and did not spare his beloved son, as the Scripture says, was an angel; but this angel did not say that Abraham did not spare his son for the sake of God, but “for my sake,” i.e. for the sake of the One who said it. It is also necessary to examine what is said about in Exodus (chapter 2), that he wanted to kill Moses because the latter went to Egypt. And then, who is the so-called destroying angel, as well as the one who is called Apopompeus in the book of Leviticus, i.e. forwarding? Scripture says about him: “one lot for the Lord, and one lot for Apopompeia, i.e. sender” (Lev. 16:8. old ed.). The first book of Samuel tells that an evil spirit oppressed Saul (1 Sam. 18:10). In the third book (of Kings), the prophet Micah says: “I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven stood by Him, on His right hand and on His left. And the Lord said, Who would persuade Ahab to go and fall in Ramoth-gilead? And one said this, and the other said differently. And one spirit came out and stood before Him and said, “I will bow him down.” And the Lord said to him: With what? He said: I will go out and become a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. The Lord said: you will bow him down and do this; go and do it. And behold, now the Lord has put a lying spirit into the mouth of all these thy prophets; but the Lord has spoken evil against you” (1 Kings 22:19–23). These words clearly show that a certain spirit, of its own will and disposition, chose to seduce and deceive, but the Lord used this spirit to kill Ahab, who was worthy to endure this. The first book of Chronicles also says: “The devil Satan rose up against Israel, and stirred up David to number the Israelites” (1 Chron. 21.1). The Psalms say that the evil angel crushes some people. In Ecclesiastes, Solomon says: “If the wrath of the ruler flares up against you, do not leave your place; because meekness covers even greater offenses” (Eccl. 10.4). In the book of Zechariah we read that the devil stood at the right hand of Jesus and opposed him (Zech. 3.1). Isaiah says that the sword of the Lord rises up against the dragon, the evil serpent (Is. 27.1) What can we say about Ezekiel, who in the second vision of the prince of Tire very clearly prophesies about the opposing force, and also says that the dragon dwells in the waters of Egypt? And the whole book written about Job, what else does it talk about, if not about the devil, who asked to give him power over everything that Job had, and over his sons, and then over his body? But the devil is defeated by Job's patience. In this book, the Lord told us a lot in His answers about the hostile power of this dragon. Here are the passages from the Scriptures of the Old Testament, as many as could be remembered at the present time, those places where opposing forces are mentioned or it is said that they are at enmity with the human race, although they must subsequently be punished. Let's look at the same places in the New Testament. It tells here that Satan approached the Savior, tempting Him (Matthew 4); the evil spirits and demons that possessed some people were expelled by the Savior from the bodies of the sufferers, who, as the Gospel says, were freed by Him. For Judas, first the devil put into his heart the thought of the tradition of Christ, and then he even accepted the whole Satan into himself: for it is written that after the piece Satan entered into him (John 13:2:27). The Apostle Paul teaches us that we should not give place to the devil, but “put on, he says, the whole armor of God, so that you can stand against the wiles of the devil” (Eph. 6.11); at the same time, he points out that the “wrestling” of the saints “is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in high places” (Eph. 6.12). He also says that the Savior was crucified by the transitory powers of this world, the wisdom of which he, Paul, according to him, does not preach (1 Cor. 2, 6:8). With all these sayings, the divine Scripture teaches us that there are some invisible enemies who fight against us and orders us to arm ourselves against them. Therefore, some simple believers in the Lord Christ think that all the sins that people commit come from these opposing forces that excite the minds of those who sin, because in this invisible struggle the opposing forces are superior; and if, for example, there were no devil, then not a single person would sin at all. 2. But we look at the matter more clearly and do not think so, taking into account what obviously arises from bodily need. In fact, is it possible to think that the devil is the cause of hunger or thirst for us? I don't think anyone would dare to say this. If the devil does not cause hunger and thirst for us, then doesn’t the same thing happen when a person reaches manhood and the excitement of natural heat appears? From here, without a doubt, it follows that the devil does not serve as the cause of that attraction that naturally appears at adulthood, i.e. desires for copulation, just as it does not cause hunger and thirst. There is no doubt that the reason for this attraction, at least, does not always depend on the devil; otherwise one would have to think that if there were no devil, then the bodies would not have the desire for this union. Now let's consider whether, as we indicated above, people really desire food not due to the action of the devil, but due to some natural impulse? And if there were no devil, would people, through experience, acquire such restraint in eating food that they would never exceed the limit, i.e. If they took food only according to need and not in more quantity than reason allows, would it really be that people would never sin against observing measure and moderation in food? I do not think that people could observe this moderation in such a way, even if there were no agitation on the part of the devil, I do not think that in eating food anyone would violate moderation and discipline without first learning this through long practice and experience. So what? It is possible for us to sin in food and drink even without prompting from the devil. And if we turn out to be not completely abstinent and zealous, do we really not experience anything similar in the desire for copulation or in the management of natural needs? I, for my part, think that the same reasoning can be applied to other natural movements, such as the movements of lust, or anger, or sadness, and in general to everything that violates the natural measure by a lack of moderation. Thus, the following consideration is now clear. Just as in good deeds the human will alone is not sufficient to accomplish good, because it is raised to every perfection by divine help, so in the opposite deeds, we receive some seeds of sins from those things that we have in natural use. But as soon as we allow ourselves more than necessary and do not resist the first movements of excess, the enemy’s power, taking advantage of this first error, encourages and excites us by all means, trying to spread sins more widely. This means that we, people, give reasons and beginnings of sins, while hostile forces spread sin wider and further, if possible, then to infinity. This is how, for example, the fall into the love of money occurs. At first people want a little money, and then, as vice increases, passion develops. After this, when mental blindness has already appeared as a result of passion, with excitement and encouragement from hostile forces, a person no longer only desires money, but steals it and obtains it through violence or even the shedding of human blood. That these extremes of vices come from demons can be easily seen from the fact that those tormented by immeasurable love, or unbridled anger, or excessive sadness suffer no less than those whom demons torment physically. Some stories tell that some people went mad from love, others from anger, some from sadness or from excessive joy. I think this happens because the opposing forces, i.e. demons, having gained a place in the minds of these people, which is revealed (to them) by immoderation, completely take possession of their minds, especially when no glory for virtue prompts these people to resist. 3. That there are some sins that do not arise from opposing forces, but originate in the natural inclinations of the body, the Apostle Paul expresses this very clearly when he says: “The flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh: they oppose each other, so that you do not do what you would like” (Gal. 5:17). Since the flesh desires what is contrary to the spirit, and the spirit is contrary to the flesh, we sometimes have a struggle against flesh and blood, precisely because we are people and walk in the flesh, and also because sometimes we can be tempted only by human temptations, as it is said about us: “No temptation has overtaken you except that which is human; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond measure” (1 Cor. 10:13). It is known that the leaders of competitions do not allow those entering the competition to enter into a fight with each other at random and by chance, but they pair one with another, depending on their physical build or age, on the basis of careful research and the most fair comparison, for example, they (pair) boys with boys, men with men - in a word, those who are closely similar to each other in age or strength. We should think about Divine Providence in exactly the same way. All who enter this arena of human life are governed by providence in the most just manner, in accordance with the strength of each, which is known only by the One who sees human hearts. Providence determines that one should fight against such flesh, another - against another, one - for such and such a time, another - for another period, and that the flesh prompts one to this or that, and the other to another; then, providence determines that one should fight against one or another hostile force, the other - against two or three (forces) together or (alternately) against one, then against the other (forces from these two or three), and at a certain time - against such a force, and at another time against another; Providence also determines after what actions everyone must fight against some forces, and after what actions - against other forces. See if this is what the words of the apostle indicate: “God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond measure,” i.e. because (he will not leave) that each person is tempted according to the amount of his strength or opportunity. But although we said that, according to the fair judgment of God, everyone is tempted in accordance with the amount of his strength, we cannot, on this basis, think that the tempted one in any case must win: after all, the one who fights in the arena cannot always win, although, by fair order, an equal opponent is chosen for him. However, if the strength of the fighters is not equal, then the reward for the winner will be unfair, and the blame will fall unfairly on the vanquished; Therefore, God allows us to be tempted, but not beyond our strength, for we are tempted according to our strength. Likewise, it is not written that in temptation God will “make it easy to bear”, but “easy, so that you may be able to bear it” (1 Cor. 10:13). But the lazy or good fulfillment of this opportunity given to us by God is in our power, for there is no doubt that with any temptation we have the opportunity to endure it, if only we properly use the power given to us. After all, it is not the same thing to have the strength to win and to overcome, as the apostle himself made it clear with the most cautious expression, saying that God will give “relief, so that you can bear it,” and not just “bear it,” for many cannot bear it, but are overcome in temptation. God does not give so that we can endure, otherwise, obviously, there would be no struggle, but so that we “can” endure. And we, for our part, thanks to the ability of free will, use this power, given to us so that we can win, we use it either diligently, and then we win, or lazily, and then we suffer defeat. But if we were given the full possibility of certain victory, so that we could in no way be defeated, then what would be the meaning of the struggle for one who cannot be defeated? Or what is the merit of victory when the ability of defense and victory is taken away from the enemy? If we are all equally given the opportunity to win, it is in our power how we can take advantage of this opportunity, i.e. either diligently or lazily, then both the guilt of the vanquished and the reward of the winner will be fair. Thus, from our feasible reasoning, I think it has become clear that there are some sins that we commit without any prompting from the evil ones, and there are other sins that attract us to some kind of excess and immoderation, when excited by evil forces. Therefore, now we should address the question of how the opposing forces themselves produce these excitations in us? 4. We find that thoughts emanating from our heart, or memories of some events, or ideas about some things and deeds, sometimes come from ourselves, sometimes aroused by opposing forces, sometimes inspired by God or holy angels. But perhaps this seems fabulous unless it is confirmed by the evidence of divine Scripture. So, David testifies to the origin of the thought from ourselves in the Psalms, saying: “the wrath of man will turn to Your glory: You will tame the remnant of anger” (Ps. 75:11). The fact that thoughts usually originate from opposing forces is evidenced by Solomon in Ecclesiastes as follows: “If the anger of the ruler flares up against you, then do not leave your place; because meekness covers even greater offenses” (Eccl. 10:4). And the Apostle Paul testifies to the same thing, saying: “We cast down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge” of Christ (2 Cor. 10:4–5). David testifies to the origin of thoughts from God in the Psalms, saying: “Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, and in whose heart the paths are directed towards You” (Ps. 84:6). And the apostle says that God put “in Tito’s heart” (2 Cor. 8:16). Angels, good and evil, also inspire something in human hearts. This is indicated by the angel who accompanied Tobiah, as well as the word of the prophet, who says: “and the angel who spoke to me told me” (Zech. 1:14). The book The Shepherd indicates the same thing; It says here that each of the people is accompanied by two angels, and if good thoughts appear in our heart, then these thoughts, according to the Shepherd, are inspired by a good angel, but if they are the opposite, then this is the suggestion of an evil angel. Barnabas proclaims the same thing in his epistle when he says that there are two paths, one is the path of light, the other of darkness, which, he says, is controlled by certain angels: the path of light is the angels of God, and the path of darkness is the angels of Satan. However, from instilling good or evil into our hearts, one must think, nothing else happens to us except excitement and excitement, calling us either to good or to evil. But when an evil force begins to incite us to evil, we can reject evil suggestions, resist the worst advice and not commit anything criminal at all. And on the other hand, when divine power calls us to good, we too may not follow (this calling). In both cases, we retain free will. We said above that either by Divine providence or by contrary forces some other memories are instilled in us, either about good or bad objects. Thus, the book of Esther tells that Artaxerxes did not remember the services of the righteous Mordecai, but one night, tired of insomnia, he received from God the idea to recall the remarkable events recorded in the chronicles; having inquired from these chronicles about the merits of Mordecai, he ordered his enemy Haman to be hanged, to give magnificent honors to Mordecai himself, and granted salvation to the entire people of the saints from the danger that was already threatening them. By the opposite power of the devil, one must think, it was inspired in the memory of the priests and scribes what they said when they came to Pilate: “Sir! we remembered that the deceiver, while still alive, said, “After three days I will rise again” (Matthew 27:63). Judas’s thought to betray the Lord Savior also did not come from the malice of his mind alone, for Scripture testified that “the devil had already put it into his (Judas’) heart to betray Him” (John 13:2). Therefore, Solomon teaches correctly, saying: “Keep your heart above all else” (Wis. 4:23). And the Apostle Paul says: “Therefore we must be especially attentive to what we hear, lest we fall away” (Heb. 2:1). He also says: “do not give place to the devil” (Eph. 4:27), showing by this that by a certain action or some carelessness a place is given to the devil in the soul, so that once he has entered the soul, he either takes possession of us, or, being unable to take possession completely, at least defiles the soul, throwing his fiery arrows at us, which sometimes deeply wound us, sometimes only inflame us. Of course, it is rare and only a few few people extinguish these fiery arrows of his, so that they do not receive wounds from them; It is the one who is covered with the most reliable and strongest shield of faith who extinguishes them. As for the words from the letter to the Ephesians: “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in high places” (Eph. 6:12), then they will need to be understood this way. The Apostle said: “our battle,” i.e. I, Paul, and you, the Ephesians, and also all those who do not have a war with flesh and blood: these are the people who are fighting against the principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, not like it was among the Corinthians, for whom there was still a struggle with flesh and blood, who were still only beset by human temptation. 5. But one should not think that each individual person is fighting against all these opposing forces: to withstand the struggle with all of them at once, I think, is impossible for any person, even if he were a saint; and if this happened in any way, which, of course, cannot happen, it is impossible that human nature could bear it without the greatest harm to itself. After all, if, for example, some fifty soldiers say that they are threatened with a fight against other fifty soldiers, then this should not be understood to mean that each of them will fight against (all) fifty (enemies); however, each of them correctly says that they face a battle against fifty (enemies), namely, all against all. In the same way, you need to understand the words of the apostle (that all fighters and warriors of Christ must fight against all (this) listed by him: everyone (needs to fight), but - either each individual will have to fight only against individual opposing forces, or, as was proven above, the helper in this fight will be (Himself) the righteous God. I think human nature has a certain measure. And although it is said about Paul: “he is My chosen vessel” (Acts 9:15), although Peter will not be overcome by the gates of hell, although Moses is a friend of God, none of them could withstand all the multitude of opposing forces at once without his destruction, if the power of the One who alone said: “Take courage, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33) did not act in him. In his hope in Him, the Apostle Paul said with confidence: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13). And also “I have labored more than all of them, not I, however, but the grace of God which is with me” (1 Cor. 15:10). In the consciousness of this, of course, inhuman power that acted and spoke in him, Paul said: “I am confident that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38–39). After all, human nature alone, I think, cannot fight against the angels, against the heights and depths and other creatures. But when she feels that God is present and dwells in her, then, in the hope of divine help, she will say: “The Lord is my light and my salvation: whom should I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life: whom shall I fear? If evildoers, my opponents and my enemies come against me to devour my flesh, then they themselves will stumble and fall. If a regiment takes up arms against me, my heart will not fear; if war arises against me, then I will hope” (Ps. 23:1–3). Therefore, I think that a person may never be able to defeat an opposing force on his own, without using divine help. That is why it is said that the angel fought with Jacob (Gen. 32:24). We understand this to mean that the angel's struggle with Jacob is not the same as the struggle against Jacob. But the one who served as the cause of Jacob’s salvation, who, having recognized his success, even gave him the name Israel, this one fights with him, i.e. is in the competition with him and helps him in the fight; Moreover, the one against whom he fought, against whom he had a struggle, was, without a doubt, (someone) different. Likewise, Paul did not say that we are fighting with the principalities and with the authorities, but with the principalities and with the authorities (against the principalities, against the powers). This means that if Jacob fought, then, without a doubt, he fought against some of those forces that, according to the teachings of Paul, are at enmity and raise wars against the human race, especially against the saints. Therefore, Scripture says about him that he “wrestled with the angel and strengthened himself towards God” (Gen. 32:24, 28. Old ed.). This means that the struggle was endured with the help of an angel, and the reward for perfection elevates the winner to God. 6. It should not be thought that feats of this kind are accomplished by bodily strength and exercises in competitive art: no, (in this struggle) spirit fights against spirit, as Paul points out, saying that we are fighting against principalities and powers and the rulers of the darkness of this world. The very method of struggle must be understood this way. When losses, dangers, and slander are raised against us, the opposing forces do this not in order to subject us only to these calamities, but in order to lead us either to great anger, or to excessive sadness, or to extreme despair, or, which, of course, is more important, to force us, tired and overcome by melancholy, to complain about God, as if He were impartial and unjust in governing human life; opposing forces strive to ensure that, under the influence of all these temptations, we either weaken in faith, or fall away from hope, or are forced to deviate from the truth of dogmas and agree to think something ungodly about God. Something similar is written about Job, (precisely) when (it is said that) the devil asked God to be given power over Job's property. This narrative teaches us that if we are sometimes struck by such losses of property, then we are not subjected to some random attacks; Likewise, it is not by chance that one of us is taken captive, nor is it by chance that the houses in which our loved ones are buried are destroyed. In all such incidents, every believer must say: “You would have no power over Me if it had not been given to you from above” (John 19:11). Look: after all, the house of Job would not have fallen on his sons if the devil had not first received power over them, and the horsemen would not have attacked in three troops to steal his camels or oxen and other animals, if they had not been prompted by that spirit to which they submitted their will, thus becoming his servants. Likewise, the one who seemed to be fire, or what was taken for lightning, of course, would not have fallen on Job’s sheep, if the devil had not first said to God: “Have you not fenced him around, and his house, and all that he has? But stretch out Your hand and touch everything that he has, will he bless You? ( Job 1:10–11 ). 7. All this shows that everything that happens in this world and is considered indifferent to whether it will be sad or something else, occurs, although not from God, but, however, not without God, since God not only does not forbid the evil and nasty forces who want to do this, but also allows them to do this, only at certain times and with certain persons. So, in the same book of Job it is said that it was at a certain time that it was decided to humiliate Job in front of other people and give his house to be plundered by sinners. Therefore, Divine Scripture teaches us to accept everything that happens to us as the work of God, knowing that without God nothing happens. And what is this, i.e. that without God nothing happens, how can we doubt this when the Lord and Savior proclaims and says: “Are not two sparrows sold for an assar? And not one of them will fall to the earth without the will of your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:29). Necessity forced us to evade more than possible from the struggle that opposing forces wage against people: it was we who also talked about the disasters that happen to the human race, i.e. about the temptations of this life, as Job says: “Is not all life a temptation to man on earth?” (Job 7.1, old ed.), they reasoned in order to more clearly reveal how these temptations occur and how one must think piously about them. Now let's see how people still deviate into the sin of false knowledge, or for what purpose do opposing forces usually fight against us through this false knowledge? Chapter three. About threefold wisdom 1. The Holy Apostle, wanting to teach us something great and mysterious regarding knowledge and wisdom, says in his first letter to the Corinthians: “We preach wisdom among the perfect, but the wisdom not of this age and not of the passing authorities of this age. But we preach the Wisdom of God, secret, hidden, which God intended before the ages for our glory, which none of the authorities of this age knew; for if they had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Cor. 2:6–8). In this place, wanting to indicate the differences between the wisdoms, the apostle writes that there is some wisdom of this world and there is some wisdom of the princes of this world, and the Wisdom of God is different from both. But when the apostle says: “the wisdom of the powers of this age,” then, I think, he is not talking about some general wisdom of all the princes of this world, but, it seems to me, he points to some special wisdom of each individual prince of this world. And again, when he says: “we preach the Wisdom of God, secret, hidden, which God intended before the ages for our glory,” then we need to consider the following: this Wisdom of God, which was hidden from other centuries and generations and was not known to the sons of men as it is now revealed to her holy apostles and prophets, is this the same wisdom, according to the apostle, that was before the coming of the Savior, from which Was Solomon wise? The word of the Savior Himself proclaims that the teaching of the Savior is greater than the wisdom of Solomon; it is (the Savior) who says: “here is greater than Solomon” (Matthew 12:42). These words show that those whom the Savior taught learned something more than (what) Solomon knew. If someone says that the Savior, although he knew more, did not convey more to others than Solomon, then how can one reconcile (with this opinion) and recognize His following words as consistent: “The Queen of the South will rise up in judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, there is more Solomon here.” Thus, there is wisdom in this world, and perhaps there is wisdom in every individual prince of this world. Regarding the Wisdom of the one God, we think it can be said that it acted less in ancient and Old Testament people, but was revealed more and more clearly through Christ. However, we will deal with the question of the Wisdom of God in its own place. 2. Now we are talking about the opposing forces, namely how they erect those battles through which false knowledge is instilled in human minds, and souls, thinking to find wisdom (in it), are led into deception. Therefore, I consider it necessary to say and define what the wisdom of this world is and what the wisdom of the princes of this world is, so that through this definition we can know who the fathers of this wisdom or these wisdoms are. So, I think, as stated above, that the wisdom of this world is different from the wisdom that belongs to the princes of this world: through this wisdom, it seems, what pertains to this world is understood and comprehended; but it is not at all concerned with knowledge about the deity or about the essence of the world, or about any higher objects, or about the structure of a good and blessed life. Such, for example, is all poetic art, such are grammar, rhetoric, geometry, music, along with which (to this type of wisdom), perhaps, medicine should also be included. In all these arts, one must think, lies the wisdom of this world. By the wisdom of the princes of this world we mean, for example, the Egyptian, so-called secret and hidden philosophy, the astrology of the Chaldeans and Indians, promising higher knowledge, as well as the many different and diverse opinions of the Greeks about the Divine. In the Holy Scriptures we find that every nation has its prince; So in Daniel (chapter 10) we read that there is some prince of the Persian kingdom and another prince of the Greek kingdom, and the sequence of the story itself clearly shows that these are not people, but some forces. Also, the prophet Ezekiel very clearly indicates that the prince of Tire has some spiritual power (Ezek. ch. 26). These and other forces of the same kind each have their own wisdom and establish their own dogmas and different opinions. When they saw the Lord and Savior, promising and preaching that He had come into this world to destroy all dogmas that falsely bore the name of knowledge, then, not knowing who was hiding in him, they immediately began to intrigue him: “the kings of the earth rise up, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed” (Ps. 2:2). Knowing these machinations of theirs and understanding their plans against the Son of God, because they crucified the Lord of glory, the apostle says: “We preach wisdom among those who are perfect, but the wisdom is not of this age and not of the passing powers of this age. But we preach the Wisdom of God, secret, hidden, which God intended before the ages for our glory, which none of the authorities of this age knew; for if they had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Cor. 2:6–8). 3. It is necessary to investigate whether the wisdom of the princes of this world is instilled in them, with which they try to feed people, whether it is instilled in people by opposing forces with the desire to catch and harm, or whether it is taught (to them) only by mistake, i.e. without any intention to harm this or that person: maybe the princes of the world themselves consider their wisdom to be true, and therefore also want to teach others what they themselves recognize as truth? I think the latter is more likely. After all, for example, Greek writers or leaders of various heresies first themselves accept the error of a false teaching as the truth and decide for themselves that it is in this teaching that the truth lies, and then they try to convince others of what they themselves recognized as the truth. In exactly the same way, one must think, do the princes of this world, in which world certain spiritual powers received authority over certain peoples, and therefore are called the princes of this world. Besides these special princes, there are some other energies of this world, i.e. some spiritual forces that have a certain activity, the implementation of which they chose for themselves, according to the freedom of their will. To these powers belong the princes who produce the wisdom of this world; so that, for example, there is a certain special energy, and the force that inspires poetry is another force that inspires geometry, and so every art and every science of this kind is imparted by a special force. Many of the Greeks thought that the art of poetry (even) could not exist without a frenzy of the mind, therefore their stories tell that sometimes their so-called soothsayers were suddenly filled with the spirit of some kind of madness. Then the Greeks also have the so-called divine (divini), who, under the influence of the demons who control them, give answers in skillfully measured verses. In the same way, the so-called magicians or sorcerers, having summoned demons on boys still of a small age, sometimes forced them to speak in the verses of a poem, surprising and amazing to everyone. This is done, you need to think, in the following way. Just like holy and immaculate souls, who with full disposition and with all purity have dedicated themselves to God, who have preserved themselves inviolate from all demonic infection, who have been purified through strong abstinence and imbued with pious and religious knowledge, through (all) this they receive participation in the deity and are awarded the grace of prophecy and other divine gifts: so, one must think, people who become convenient for opposing forces, namely through active life or teaching, kind and pleasant to them, receive inspiration from these forces and become partakers of their wisdom and teaching. As a result of this, it happens that they are fulfilled by the suggestions of those to whom they first enslaved themselves. 4. It is not superfluous to pay attention to those who teach about Christ differently than the rule of the Scriptures allows: were the opposing forces working against the faith of Christ with an insidious intention when they invented some fabulous and at the same time ungodly opinions, or they, having heard the word of Christ, were unable to either spew it out of the recesses of their conscience, or preserve it in purity and holiness, and that is why they introduced various errors contrary to the rule of Christian truth, through the vessels corresponding to them and, so to speak, through their prophets? It is better to think that the forces that have fallen away from God, these apostates and fugitives, invent these errors of false teaching and (these) deceptions, due to the very corruption of their mind and will, or out of envy of those who are destined to rise, through the knowledge of the truth, to the degree from which they themselves have fallen, they invent in order to prevent such success. So, from many indications it is clearly revealed that the human soul, while it is in this body, can perceive various influences, i.e. influence of various spirits, evil and good. At the same time, the soul perceives the actions of evil spirits in two ways. Sometimes spirits completely take possession of people’s minds, so that they do not allow the possessed to understand or think anything at all; such, for example, are those who are usually called possessed, whom we see mad and frantic; These were those who, according to the story of the Gospel, were healed by the Savior. Sometimes evil spirits, through hostile suggestion, corrupt the feeling and reflective soul with various thoughts and crafty advice: an example is Judas, who was led by the devil to the crime of betrayal, as Scripture proclaims, saying: “the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot to betray Him” (John 13:2). On the contrary, when a person is prompted and called to goodness and inspired towards the heavenly and divine, then he perceives energy, i.e. the influence of a good spirit. This is how the holy angels and God Himself acted in the prophets, calling and exhorting them to good with holy inspirations, and, however, the desire or unwillingness to follow the one who called for the heavenly and divine remained, of course, at the will and disposal of man. From this clear distinction we learn how the soul is stimulated by the presence of a good spirit: under the influence of inspiration it is not disturbed or damaged in mind, and is not deprived of the free determination of its will. An example would be all the prophets or apostles who served divine answers without any disturbance of the mind. That good spirits, with their suggestions, evoke the human memory to remember better things, we have already shown this above, when we mentioned Mordecai and Artaxerxes. Chapter Four. About human temptations 1. Now, I think, we should not remain silent about human temptations, which are sometimes born from flesh and blood, or from the wisdom of flesh and blood, which, they say, is hostile to God. After presenting the doctrine of those temptations that are called more than human, i.e. which we experience from the principalities and powers, and the rulers of the darkness of this world, and from the heavenly spirits of lasciviousness, as well as from evil spirits and unclean demons, we will also say whether the opinion of some is true that every person has two souls. In this question, I think it is appropriate to investigate whether there is anything else in us, people who consist of soul and body and vital spirit, that has its own excitement and excitement, attracting to evil? Some usually pose just this question: shouldn’t we recognize, as it were, two souls: one divine and heavenly, the other lower? Or are we inclined and attracted to evil that is pleasing to the body, by the very fact that we are connected to bodies? And bodies, as we know, are mortal by nature and completely inanimate, because the material body is animated by us, i.e. souls, and it is, of course, opposite and hostile to the spirit. Or, thirdly, is our soul, as some Greeks thought, one in essence, but consists of many parts, and one part of it is called rational, the other unreasonable, and that part which they call unreasonable, in turn, is divided into two passions - lust and anger? So, regarding the soul, as we have found, some have these three above-stated opinions. However, one of these opinions, which, as we said, was held by some Greek philosophers, namely, that the soul is tripartite, this opinion, as I see, is not confirmed with sufficient strength by the authority of Divine Scripture. For the remaining two opinions, certain passages can be found in the divine Scriptures that seem to apply to them. 2. Of these opinions, let us first consider the one that some usually assert, namely, that we have two souls: one soul is good and heavenly, the other is lower and earthly, and that the better soul comes from heaven; It was precisely this soul that gave Jacob victory over Esau even in his mother’s womb through his brother’s stumbling (Gen. 25); in Jeremiah it was sanctified from birth (Jer. 1); in John, even from the womb (of his mother), it was filled with the Holy Spirit. The lower soul, in their opinion, is conceived together with the body from the bodily seed, therefore it cannot live or exist apart from the body, and hence, they say, this soul is often called flesh. They refer the words: “the flesh desires what is contrary to the spirit” (Gal. 5.17) not to the flesh, but precisely to this soul, which is actually the soul of the flesh. They also try to confirm their opinion with the words of the book of Leviticus: “the life of every body is its blood” (Lev. 17.14). Since the blood, being spread throughout the whole body, gives life to the body, then, they say, that soul, which is called the soul of all flesh, is present in the blood. This means that the words (of the apostle) that the flesh is at enmity against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, and the saying “the soul of every body is its blood,” in their opinion, call the same carnal wisdom by different names, because there is a certain material spirit that is not subject to the law of God and cannot submit to it, since it has earthly dispositions and bodily desires. About this material spirit, in their opinion, the apostle said the following words: “I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that is in my members” (Rom. 7:23). Someone will object to them that this is being said about bodily nature, because by the nature of its nature the body is truly mortal, but it has, as they say, a feeling or wisdom that is hostile to God or hostile to the spirit, and as a result of this it can be said that the flesh itself has, as it were, a voice crying out against hunger, thirst, cold, against all suffering from excess or deficiency. But they will try to resolve and refute this objection; they will point out that there are many other spiritual passions, which in their origin are completely independent of the body, and yet the spirit is at enmity against them; These are: ambition, stinginess, jealousy, envy, pride and the like. Seeing that the human mind or spirit struggles with all these passions, they believe the cause of all these disasters is not in anything else, but precisely in this seemingly bodily soul, born from a seed, which we spoke about above. To confirm this opinion, they usually cite the testimony of the apostle: “The works of the flesh are known; they are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, envy, strife, anger, discord, temptations, heresies, hatred, murder, drunkenness, disorderly conduct, and the like” (Gal. 5:19–21). But all this, they say, originates from bodily need or bodily pleasure, and therefore one cannot think that all these movements belong to a substance that does not have a soul, i.e. flesh. In the same way, the words of the apostle: “Look, brothers, who you are called: few of you are wise according to the flesh” (1 Cor. 1:26), apparently, can be interpreted to mean that there is some special carnal and material wisdom, while wisdom in the spirit is different from it, but carnal wisdom, of course, could not be called wisdom if the soul of the flesh did not exist, to which what is called the wisdom of the flesh belongs. In addition to this, they also say the following. If “the flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, so that you do not do what you would like” (Gal. 5.16), then what does the apostle mean when he says: “you do not do what you would like”? Of course, they say, these words do not refer to the spirit, because spiritual desire is not prohibited. But these words cannot be applied to the flesh either, because if the flesh does not have its own soul, then, without a doubt, it does not have any desire. This means that it remains to be assumed that this is said about the will of such a soul, which may have its own desire, hostile to the will of the spirit. If this is so, then, obviously, the will of this soul is something between flesh and spirit, and, without a doubt, serves and obeys one of the two, which it chooses to serve. If she indulges in the pleasures of the flesh, she makes people carnal; if it is united with the spirit, then it helps people to be in the spirit and therefore be called spiritual. The apostle apparently points to this when he says: “But you do not live according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit” (Rom. 8:9). So, we need to examine what exactly this will is, intermediate between the flesh and the spirit, different from the will of the flesh and from the will of the spirit? There is no doubt that everything that belongs, as they say, to the spirit constitutes the will of the spirit, and everything that is called the works of the flesh constitutes the will of the flesh. What is the will of the soul, different from the will of the spirit and from the will of the flesh and called external (in relation to both)? Convincing us not to fulfill it, the apostle says: “You are not doing what you would like.” Apparently, these words indicate that one should not cleave to either of these two objects - neither to the flesh nor to the spirit. But someone will say that doing your will for the soul is, of course, better than doing the will of the flesh; in the same way, it is better for her to fulfill the will of the spirit than her own will; Why does the apostle say: “You are not doing what you would like”? Indeed, in the struggle that is waged between the flesh and the spirit, victory does not always remain on the side of the spirit, for it is known that in very many cases the flesh prevails. 3. But since we have gone into a deep discussion, in which it is necessary to consider from all sides everything that can be brought into consideration (on this issue), we will see if this passage can be explained in this way. It is better for the soul to follow the spirit if the spirit has (already) conquered the flesh; for her, it seems, it is worse to follow the flesh when the flesh (still) fights against the spirit and tries to attract the soul to itself. But perhaps it is more beneficial for the soul to be in the power of the flesh than to remain in its own dispositions, for being, as they say, neither hot nor cold, but remaining in the average state of some lukewarmness, it can not quickly and with difficulty find conversion. If the soul cleaves to the flesh, then saturated and filled with those misfortunes that it sometimes suffers from carnal vices, as if tired by the heaviest burden of intemperance and lust, it can more easily and quickly turn from material impurities to heavenly desire and spiritual beauty. This, one must think, is the meaning of the apostle’s words that the spirit fights against the flesh and the flesh against the spirit so that we do not do what we want: without a doubt, the last words indicate what is outside the will of the spirit and outside the will of the flesh. In other words, we can say that it is better for a person to be either in virtue or in vice than in neither one nor the other. Meanwhile, not yet turning to the spirit and not becoming one with it and, at the same time, clinging to the body and thinking about carnal things, the soul, apparently, is neither in a good nor in a clearly evil state, but, one might say, is like an animal. But it is better for her, if possible, to cleave to the spirit and become spiritual. If this is impossible, then it is more beneficial for her to even follow carnal vice than to remain in her dispositions and be in the state of an unreasonable animal. We discussed this, wanting to consider different opinions; At the same time, we stepped aside more than we wanted, so that it would not seem that we were unaware of the doubts that people usually arouse when they ask whether, in addition to this heavenly and rational soul, there is in us another soul, by nature hostile to that one and called either flesh, or the wisdom of the flesh, or the soul of the flesh. 4. Now let's see what the defenders of the idea usually answer to this: that in us there is one movement and one life of the same soul, the salvation or destruction of which, depending on its actions, is attributed to it itself. And, first of all, let’s see what mental suffering we experience when we feel within ourselves that we are, as it were, being torn into separate parts, when some kind of struggle of thoughts takes place in our hearts, and what probabilities present themselves to us that incline us now to one thing or another, and now denounce us, now approve of us. There is no exaggeration if we call the mind bad that has different, contradictory and inconsistent judgments with itself; Meanwhile, this is exactly what happens to all people when they have to reason about an unknown subject, and foresee or advise what is more correct or useful to choose. So, there is nothing surprising if two probabilities, mutually contradictory and suggesting the opposite, pull the spirit in different directions. For example, if meditation prompts someone to faith and the fear of God, then it cannot be said that (in this case) the flesh is at enmity against the spirit: no, but the spirit is attracted to different things, while (it) does not know what is true and useful. In the same way, when, let us suppose, the body inclines to lust, but the best intention resists these impulses, then one should not think that some special life is struggling with another life, but the bodily nature, filled with seminal moisture, longs to empty the member through discharge. After all, we cannot think that some nasty force or the life of another soul arouses thirst in us and forces us to drink, or produces hunger and forces us to eat. But just as food and drink are both required and ejected through the natural movements of the body, in the same way the moisture of natural semen, collected for a certain time in its place, tends to be erupted and expelled. And this (eruption) does not depend to such an extent on the action of any other stimulation that sometimes it even occurs by itself. These persons understand the words that the flesh fights the spirit to mean that habit, or need, or pleasure of the flesh, captivating a person, distracts and deviates him from divine and spiritual things. Indeed, distracted by bodily need, we do not have the opportunity to engage in divine and eternal things. On the other hand, the soul, which is concerned with the divine and spiritual and united with the spirit, is said to resist the flesh, because it does not allow it to indulge in pleasures and swim in pleasures that are naturally pleasing to the body. They also understand the saying: “The carnal mind is enmity against God” (Rom. 8:7). According to their interpretation, these words do not mean that the body actually has a soul or a wisdom of its own; but just as we usually say that the earth is thirsty and wants to drink water, using the word “want” not in its own sense, but in a figurative sense, or we also say that the house wants to be restored, and much more, and the like: in exactly the same way we need to understand the wisdom of the flesh or the saying that “the flesh desires what is contrary to the spirit.” They usually add another saying: “The voice of your brother’s blood cries to Me from the ground” (Gen. 4:10). What cries out to God is not in the strict sense shed blood, but in a figurative sense it is said that blood cries out as long as punishment is still required for the one who shed blood. The words of the apostle: “I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind” (Rom. 7:23) they understand as if the apostle had said: whoever wants to engage in the word of God, the bodily needs and needs inherent in the body as a kind of law are distracted, torn off and made difficult, so that, while occupied with wisdom, he cannot contemplate the divine mysteries with full attention. 5. But among the works of the flesh, heresies, envy, disputes, and so on are also indicated. They understand this instruction to mean that the soul, as a result of submission to bodily passions, having become coarse in its feelings, being suppressed by the weight of vices and not thinking about anything subtle and spiritual, becomes, they say, flesh and, thus, borrows the name from that for which it has more zeal and disposition. They supplement their research with the following question: who can be pointed out or who can be called the creator of this evil feeling, called the sense of the flesh, for, according to their teaching, one should not believe in any other creator of soul and flesh other than God? And if we say that the good God in His very creation created something hostile to Himself, then this, of course, will turn out to be absurdity. After all, if it is written that “the carnal mind (wisdom) is enmity against God,” and we call this wisdom created from creation itself, then, obviously, it will be necessary to say that God Himself created a certain nature hostile to itself, which cannot submit to Him and His law, if only we recognize the wisdom of which this is said as spiritual. But if we accept this opinion, then how will we differ from those who admit that souls are created different by nature and by nature must either perish or be saved? Such a teaching, of course, appeals only to heretics who invent these fictions, not being able to rationally and piously prove the truth of God. As far as possible, we have given on behalf of various people what can be said about each individual opinion in the form of reflection. Let the reader choose from this which idea is better to accept. Chapter five. That the world began in time 1. Among the church definitions there is one more, which consists, according to the evidence of our history, that this world was created and began to exist from a certain time and, due to its corruption, must be saved, as was announced to everyone in the teaching about the completion of the age. Therefore, it seems not superfluous to repeat a little about the beginning of the world. As regards the testimony of the Scriptures, this doctrine appears to be very easy to prove. Even heretics, while disagreeing on many other issues, seem to agree with each other on this, yielding to the authority of Scripture. So, what else can Scripture teach us about the creation of the world, except what Moses wrote about its origin? It is true that the narrative of Moses contains more than the historical account seems to show, it contains the greatest spiritual meaning, and under some veil of letters hides things mysterious and profound: but, nevertheless, the speech of the narrator shows that everything visible was created at a certain time. Jacob announces the end of the world for the first time when he testifies, saying to his sons: “Gather together,” sons of Jacob, “and I will tell you” what will happen in the last days (Gen. 49:1) or after the last days. This means that if there are last days or a time after the last days, then the days that have begun must necessarily cease. David also says this: “The heavens will perish, but You will remain, and they will all wear out like a robe, and You will change them like a garment, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will not end” (Ps. 102:27–28). Our Lord and Savior Himself also testifies that the world was created when he says: “He who created at the beginning male and female created them” (Matthew 19:4). And again, saying that “heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away” (Matthew 24:35), He indicates that the world is corruptible and must end. Likewise, the apostle clearly points to the end of the world when he says: “For the creation was subjected to futility, not voluntarily, but by the will of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself should be set free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious freedom of the children of God” (Rom. 8:20–21), and also when he also says: “The image of this world is passing away” (1 Cor. 7:31). But by the expression that creation is subject to vanity, the apostle also indicates its beginning. Indeed, if the creation is subject to vanity in some hope, then it is subject, of course, for a reason; and whatever has a cause must also have a beginning. After all, creation could not submit to vanity without any beginning, and also a creature that did not begin to serve could not hope for liberation from slavery to corruption. In the Divine Scripture one can find, if anyone “eats at leisure,” a lot of other sayings of the same kind, which say that the world has a beginning and will have an end. 2. If anyone does not agree in this matter with the authority of our Scripture or faith, then we ask him whether God, in his opinion, can comprehend everything or cannot? To say that he cannot is obviously impious. If, of necessity, he says that God comprehends everything, then, of course, this “everything” has a beginning and an end, because it can be comprehended. After all, what has absolutely no beginning cannot be comprehended at all; in fact, where there is no beginning, there the possibility of knowledge is as infinitely distant and delayed as the mind extends forward. 5. So, God subsequently established this arrangement of the world; but already from the beginning of the world He foresaw the intentions and deeds - both of those who, due to the fall of the mind, deserved to go into bodies, and of those who were carried away by passion for the visible, and of those who were forced, willy-nilly or unwillingly, to serve those who had fallen into this state, forced by Him who conquered (them) in hope. Some, not understanding and not understanding that the diversity of this order was established by God on the basis of previous actions of free will, think that everything that happens in this world happens either by chance or by fatal necessity, and that nothing depends on our will. Therefore, they cannot recognize the fishery as innocent. 6. We have said that all the souls in this world need many servants, or rulers, or helpers. But in recent times, the world was already threatened by the imminent end, and the entire human race was inclined towards final destruction, because not only the governed, but also those who were entrusted with the care of governance became weak. Then the world no longer needed such help and not such defenders, but demanded the help of the Author Himself and His Creator, so that He would restore the lost and neglected art of obedience for some and the art of government for others. Therefore, the only begotten Son of God, who was the Word and Wisdom of the Father, although he was with the Father in the glory that he had before the world was, humbled Himself and, taking the form of a servant, became obedient even to death, in order to teach obedience to those who could inherit salvation only through obedience; He also restored the broken laws of kingship and government, when He subdued all enemies under His feet, so that He could teach the rulers themselves the rules of government precisely through the fact that He must reign until He puts the enemies under His feet and destroys the last enemy - death. But He came, as we said, to restore the art of not only government, or reign, but also obedience, Himself first fulfilling what He wanted from others; therefore, He not only became obedient to the Father even to the point of death on the cross, but at the completion of the century, embracing in Himself all those who were subjugated by Him to the Father and through Him coming to salvation, He Himself, together with them and in them, they say, submitted to the Father: since everything exists in Him, and He is the head of everything, and in Him is salvation and the fullness of those who inherit salvation. This is exactly what the apostle says about Him: “When all things are put in subjection to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subject to Him who put all things in subjection to Him, so that God may be in all things” (1 Cor. 15:28). 7. But I do not know how the heretics, not understanding the apostle’s thought contained in these words, dishonor the name of submission in the Son. After all, by examining the property of this name, it will be easy to find this property in comparison with the opposite one. If being conquered is not good, then, of course, the opposite is good, i.e. not to be conquered is good. And indeed, the saying of the Apostle: “When he puts all things into subjection, then the Son Himself will submit to Him who put all things under Him,” according to their understanding, it seems to mean that now the Son is not subject to the Father, but will submit to Him after the Father has put all things in subjection to Him. But I wonder how one can understand this, that the One who, even before everything was subjugated to Him, was not Himself subordinate, this same one must submit after everything is subjugated to Him, when He becomes the king of all and receives power over everything? They do not understand that the submission of Christ to the Father signifies the blessedness of our perfection and expresses the victorious end of the work He has taken upon Himself, when He will present to the Father not only the corrected power of government and reign over all creation, but also the corrected and restored orders of obedience and submission of the human race. So, if the submission by which, they say, the Son submitted to the Father is recognized as good and saving, then it will be quite consistent and in accordance with (this thought) the submission of enemies to the Son of God mentioned (in Scripture) will also be recognized as saving and useful. When the Son is said to have submitted to the Father, this indicates the complete restoration of all creation; in the same way, when the enemies of God are called those who submitted to the Son, then in this submission is meant the salvation of those who submitted and the restoration of the lost. 8. But this conquest will be accomplished in certain certain ways, through certain teaching, and at certain times. Moreover, no necessity will force submission, so that the whole world will be subjugated to God not by force, but by word, reason, teaching, calling to good, the best institutions, as well as due and appropriate threats that rightly frighten those who neglect their health and care for their salvation and benefit. After all, we, people, training slaves or sons, curb them with threats and fear, while they, due to their age, are not yet susceptible to persuasion; when they begin to understand goodness, benefit and honor, then the fear of beatings ceases, and they are content with verbal and rational persuasion towards all that is good. But how should everyone be controlled while maintaining free will in all intelligent creatures? Those. whom should the word of God consider and instruct as already prepared and capable, whom should it be put aside for a while, from whom should it be completely hidden and their hearing turned far away from itself? And again: what kind of people, who despised the word of God declared and preached to them, should be induced to salvation by some kind of corrections and purifications and, as it were, demanded and forced to convert from them? Who can be given any convenient opportunities for salvation, as it sometimes happens that a person receives undoubted salvation by proving his faith with just one answer? For what reasons and in what cases does this happen? What does Divine Wisdom see in these people and what movements of their will does she see when arranging this? All this is known only to God and His Only Begotten, through whom all things were created and restored, and to the Holy Spirit, through whom all things are sanctified, who proceeds from the Father Himself. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen. Chapter six. About making peace 4. In the apostle we find mention of the spiritual body; Therefore, now, as far as possible, let us examine how we should think about this body. As far as our mind can understand, we think that the spiritual body is such in its quality that it is fitting to dwell in it not only for all holy and perfect souls, but also for all that creation that will be freed from the slavery of corruption. Indeed, the apostle says the following about the body: “we have a church not made with hands, eternal in heaven” (2 Cor. 5:1), i.e. in the abodes of saints. Based on this saying, we can guess by what purity, what subtlety, what glory the quality of that body will be distinguished, in comparison with today’s bodies, although heavenly and brilliant, but, however, made by hand and visible. And that body is called a church, not made by hand, but eternal in heaven. But since “what is visible is temporary, but what is invisible is eternal” (2 Cor. 4:18), then the invisible, not made with hands and eternal (body) incomparably surpasses all those bodies that we see both on earth and in heaven, visible bodies, made with hands and not eternal. Based on this comparison, one can assume what beauty (decor), what splendor (splendor), what brilliance (fulgor) the spiritual body will have. It is truly said that “no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and the things that God has prepared for those who love Him have not entered into the heart of man” (1 Cor. 2:9). At the same time, there should be no doubt that the nature of this body of ours, by the will of God, who created it this way, can be elevated by the Creator to that quality of the subtlest, purest body, which will be caused by the state of things and which the dignity of rational nature will require. Finally, when the world began to need difference and variety, matter with complete submission presented itself to God, as its Lord and Creator, for various kinds and types of things, so that He would produce from it various forms of heavenly and earthly bodies. When things begin to strive towards making them all one, just as the Father and the Son are one, then it is clear that there will no longer be diversity where all are one. 5. Therefore it is also said that then the last enemy, called death, will be destroyed, so that there will no longer be any sorrow where there is no death and there will be nothing hostile where there is no enemy. The destruction of the last enemy must be understood, of course, not in the sense that his substance, created by God, will perish, but in the sense that the disposition and hostile will, which originated not from God, but from himself, will perish. This means that he will be destroyed not in the sense that he will no longer exist, but in the sense that he will not be an enemy and death: for nothing is impossible for the Almighty, and nothing is incurable for the Creator. He created everything for being; but what was created for being cannot but exist. Therefore, creatures, of course, are subject to change and diversity, so that, depending on merit, they are either in a better or a worse state: but that which was created by God for being and abiding cannot undergo substantial destruction. What perishes according to popular belief does not perish according to the teachings of faith or truth. Thus, according to the inexperienced and infidel, our body dies after death, and, according to their belief, absolutely nothing remains of its substance. We, who believe in the resurrection of the body, understand that death only produces a change in the body, while its substance, of course, continues to exist and, according to the will of the Creator, in due time will be restored to life and again undergo change, so that the body, which was originally from the earth, then, as a result of death, decomposed and turned back into dust and earth - “for dust you are,” he says, “and to dust you will return” (Gen. 3.19), will again rise from the earth and after this will achieve the glory of the spiritual body, in accordance with the dignity of the soul that will dwell in it. 6. All of our bodily substance will be brought into this state, one must think, when everything is restored to its original unity, and God will be all in all. But this will happen, one must believe, not suddenly, but little by little and in parts over the course of endless and innumerable centuries. Purification and correction will be carried out gradually and separately for each being; at the same time, some will go ahead and will strive for higher degrees more quickly, others will follow (the first) at a close distance, and others are far behind, and thus, through many and countless ranks of those who are successful and reunited with God from a state of enmity (to Him), it will come (the turn) to the last enemy, called death, and he will also be destroyed so that he will no longer be an enemy. When all rational souls are restored to this state, then the nature of this body of ours will be elevated to the glory of the spiritual body. We see that rational creatures who, as a result of their sins, lived in disgrace, are no other creatures than creatures called to bliss for their merits; but the same beings who were formerly sinners are subsequently converted and united with God, as we see, called to bliss. You need to think in exactly the same way about the nature of the body. The body that we will use in incorruption, in power and in glory will not be different from that which we use now, in humiliation, in corruption and in weakness; but the same body, freed from the infirmities in which it now exists, will change into a state of glory and become spiritual, and thus, what was a vessel of dishonor, will, when cleansed, become a vessel of honor and a dwelling place of bliss. In this state, one must believe, the body will always remain unchanged, according to the will of the Creator; the authenticity of this is confirmed by the saying of the apostle: “we have a church not made with hands, eternal in heaven” (2 Cor. 5.1). The church faith does not recognize, following some Greek philosophers, in addition to this body, consisting of four elements, another, fifth body, completely different and different from this body of ours. Indeed, on the basis of the Holy Scriptures, no one can even make any assumption about this (fifth body); in the same way, the very study of things does not allow us to recognize it, especially since the apostle clearly defines that those raised from the dead are not given any new bodies, but they receive the same bodies that they had during life, (only) transformed from worse to better. He says: “The natural body is sown, the spiritual body is raised: it is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in strength; it is sown in humiliation, it is raised in glory” (1 Cor. 15.44; 42–43). It is known that a person has some improvement: at first he is a spiritual person and does not understand what is from the spirit of God, and then, through teaching, he reaches the point where he becomes spiritual and judges everything, but no one judges him. One should think about the state of the body in exactly the same way. Now the body serves the soul and is therefore called spiritual. But when the soul, having united with God, becomes one spirit with Him, then this same body will serve the spirit and, thanks to some improvement, will achieve a spiritual state and quality, especially since the bodily nature, as we have often demonstrated, is created by the Creator in such a way that it easily takes on the quality that God wills or circumstances will require. 7. So, all this teaching contains (in itself) that God created two common natures: the visible nature, i.e. corporeal, and the invisible nature, which is incorporeal. These two natures take different changes. The invisible rational nature changes in soul and disposition, since it is endowed with the freedom of its will, and as a result of this is sometimes in the good, sometimes in the opposite. The bodily nature undergoes a significant change. Therefore, the artist of everything, God, uses the services of this matter in everything that He wants to undertake, arrange or renew, and He changes and transforms bodily nature into whatever forms or species He pleases, in accordance with the merits of things. The prophet clearly indicates this when he says: “God, who creates and changes all things.” 8. We also need to consider the following. When, in the completion of everything, God will be all in all, will not all corporeal nature then exist in one form, and will not all the quality of the body be limited to one and the same quality, which will shine in the ineffable glory that will belong to the spiritual body? If we understand correctly, then this is exactly what Moses writes at the beginning of his book, saying: “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). This is the beginning of all creation, and, of course, the end and completion of everything calls (all creation) to this very beginning, i.e. (in the completion of all things) then heaven and that earth (again) will be the habitation and rest of the pious, and the holy and meek will inherit that earth before (others), for so teach the law, the prophets and the Gospel. In this land, in my opinion, are found the true and living forms of that worship which Moses communicated under the shadow of the law. It is said about these forms that they “serve the image and shadow of the heavenly things” (Heb. 8:5), i.e. those who served in the law serve. And Moses himself was told: “See that you make them in the image that was shown to you on the mountain” (Ex. 25:40). Therefore, it seems to me that just as on this earth the law was a kind of teacher of those whom it had to lead to Christ, teaching and instructing them, so that after the instruction of the law they could more easily accept all the most perfect institutions of Christ, so that other earth, receiving all the saints, first waters and teaches them instructions in the true and eternal law, so that (subsequently) they more easily master those perfect heavenly institutions, to which they have already nothing can be added. This is precisely what the so-called everlasting Gospel and covenant will consist of, always new and never growing old. Chapter 1. About the inspiration of the Holy Scripture and how it should be read and understood, what is the reason for the ambiguity, as well as the impossible or meaningless in letter in some places of Scripture 1. In exploring such great things, we are not content with general concepts and a clear representation of what is visible, but, in order to clearly prove our words, we take evidence from the Scriptures, which we recognize as divine, (namely) from the so-called Old and so-called New Testaments, and (then) we try to confirm our faith with reason. But we have not yet discussed the Scriptures themselves as divine. Therefore, let us think a little and briefly about this as well, presenting the reasons that prompt us to recognize Scripture as divine. But before using sayings from the Scriptures themselves and from the teaching that is revealed in them, (we) need to say about Moses and Jesus Christ - about the lawgiver of the Jews and about the leader of the saving Christian dogmas. Although the Hellenes and barbarians had many legislators, as well as teachers who proclaimed teachings that promised truth, we do not know a single legislator who could inspire other nations with zeal to accept his words. And although those who promised to philosophize about the truth cited a lot of evidence, apparently in agreement with reason, not one of them could instill the truth they recognized in different nations or a significant part of one people. Although the legislators would like, if possible, to subject the entire human race to the laws that seemed to them beautiful, and the teachers would like to spread their imaginary truth throughout the entire universe: but, being unable to persuade people of other languages ​​and many nations to observe these laws and accept their teachings, they did not even begin to fulfill this (their desire), because they prudently saw that success in this matter was not possible for them. Meanwhile, all of Greece and all the barbarian countries of the universe have countless zealots who have abandoned the laws of their fathers and the universally recognized gods, and observe the Mosaic laws and the teachings of the words of Jesus Christ, although the followers of the Mosaic laws are hated by worshipers of idols (idolaters), and those who accepted the teachings of Jesus Christ, in addition to hatred, are also in danger of death. 1. When discussing such great subjects, it is not enough to leave the whole matter to human thoughts and ordinary understanding and to judge the invisible, so to speak, visibly (from the point of view of the visible): to prove what we say, we must also cite the evidence of the divine Scriptures. But in order for these testimonies to have firm and undoubted authenticity both in what we will say and in what has already been said, it seems necessary to first prove that the Scriptures themselves are divine, i.e. inspired by the Spirit of God. Therefore, as briefly as possible, we will prove this also by presenting suitable reasons from the divine Scriptures themselves, i.e. from Moses, the first legislator of the Jewish people, and from the words of Jesus Christ, the founder and head of the Christian religion and teaching. Although the Greeks and barbarians had many legislators, as well as countless teachers and philosophers, who claimed that they affirmed the truth; but, as we remember, not a single legislator could instill any sympathy and jealousy in the souls of foreign peoples, so that they either willingly accepted his laws, or even observed them with all their spiritual zeal. Thus, not only among many other, foreign peoples, but even within one people, no one could introduce and spread the truth recognized by him (themselves) so that knowledge of this truth or trust in it became universal. Likewise, it cannot be doubted that the legislators wished that their laws should be observed, if possible, by all men, and that the teachers wished to spread the truth they recognized among all men. But knowing that they do not at all possess such great power, with the help of which they could attract even foreign peoples to the adoption of their laws or regulations, they did not even dare to test or begin this, so that an unsuccessful and impossible undertaking in this matter would not create for them the reputation of unreasonable people. Meanwhile, throughout the entire universe, throughout Greece and in all foreign nations, there are countless people who, having abandoned their native laws and their former gods, devoted themselves to observing the Mosaic Law and became disciples and worshipers of Christ - and this is not without enormous hatred against them on the part of idolaters, so that many of them are subjected to torture, and sometimes even taken to death: but they love with complete enthusiasm, keeping the word of the teachings of Christ. 2. And if we also pay attention to how, despite the intrigues against the confessors of Christianity, despite the fact that some were put to death for professing Christianity, while others were deprived of their property, within a very few years the word could still be preached throughout the universe, even with a small number of teachers, and Greeks and barbarians, wise and foolish, joined the worship of God established by Jesus: then we will not hesitate to call this matter beyond human strength, especially since Christ taught with all authority and persuasiveness about the invincibility of His teaching. Therefore, in justice, His words must be recognized as a prophecy, for example, that “And you will be brought before rulers and kings for Me, to testify before them and the Gentiles” (Matthew 10:18), and “Many will say to Me on that day: “Lord, Lord,” did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your Name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many, many miracles?” And I will say to them: “I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness” (Matthew 7:22-23). Perhaps (before) it seemed that He said this in vain, and these words are not true. But when the words spoken with such authority were fulfilled, it (became) obvious that God, truly becoming human, delivered saving dogmas to people. 2. One should also pay attention to how in a short time this religion grew (spread), how it succeeded, despite the punishments and killing of its followers, despite the theft of property and the enduring (by Christians) of all kinds of torture. And even more surprising is that the teachers themselves, as we know, were neither capable enough nor numerous enough, meanwhile, this word is preached throughout the entire universe, so that the Christian religion is accepted by Greeks and barbarians, wise and foolish. Hence, there is no doubt that it is not through human forces or means that the word of Jesus Christ inspires complete trust and acts with power on the minds and souls of all (people). Moreover, He predicted and confirmed this with His divine revelations, as is clear from His following words: “And you will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, to be a witness to the leaders and the Gentiles.” And again: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations.” And again: “Many will say to Me on that day: “Lord, Lord,” did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your Name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many, many miracles?” And I will say to them: “I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of iniquity.” If this had been said by Him, then His prediction would not have been fulfilled, then perhaps His words would have seemed untrue and without any authority. But now, when His prediction, expressed with such power and authority, is being carried out in practice, it is revealed with complete clarity that, indeed, He who became man delivered saving commandments to people. 3. What must also be said regarding the prophecy about Christ, that the scepter will not depart from Judas, nor the lawgiver from between his feet, until the Reconciler comes, and to Him the submission of the nations? (Gen. 49.10.) After all, from history and from what is being done now, it is clearly clear that since the time of Jesus the Jews have had no kings, and all the Jewish differences that (the Jews) were proud of have been destroyed - I mean the church, the altar, the established worship, the vestments of the high priest. Thus, the words of the prophecy were fulfilled: “For for a long time the children of Israel will remain without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an altar, without an ephod and a teraphim” (Hosea 3.4). We use these words against those who, encountering difficulties in the words of Jacob to Judah in Genesis, say that a prince from the tribe of Judah sometimes still rules the people, and that the leaders from the seed of Judah will not become poor until the coming of Christ, which they imagine. In fact, if “the children of Israel will remain for a long time without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an altar, without an ephod and a teraphim,” then it is clear that since the church was destroyed and there was no sacrifice, no altar, no priesthood, the prince from Judah and the leader from his loins became impoverished. But since the prophecy says that “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the lawgiver from between his feet, until the Reconciler comes, and to Him is the submission of the nations,” then, obviously, He has already come, to Whom it is determined who is the hope of the nations. And this is clear from the many nations who believed in God through Christ. 3. What then needs to be said regarding the prophetic prediction about Christ, that the princes will not cease from Judah and the rulers from among his feet, until the one who is appointed comes - i.e. the kingdom has been determined, and until the longing of the nations comes? Indeed, from history itself, from what we see now, it is very clearly revealed that since the time of Christ the Jews no longer have kings. But at the same time, all the objects of Jewish pride, which the Jews most boasted and vainly boasted about, were also destroyed, such as the beauty of the church, the distinctions of the altar, all the priestly headdresses and high priestly robes. Thus, the words of the prophecy were fulfilled: “For for a long time the children of Israel will remain without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an altar, without an ephod and without a teraphim.” We use these testimonies against those who, apparently, agree regarding the words of Jacob in Genesis that they were spoken about Judah, but they say that the prince of Judah still remains - precisely the one who serves as the leader of their people and whom they call the patriarch, and that there cannot be a shortage of his descendants until the coming of that Christ, whom they imagine in their imagination. But if the word of the prophet is true that “For a long time the children of Israel will remain without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an altar, without an ephod and a teraphim,” then, of course, it is quite certain that since the destruction of the church, since the sacrifices are not made, there is no altar and there is no priesthood, the prince of Judah, as it is written, has become impoverished, impoverished and “the lawgiver from between his feet, until the Reconciler comes, and to him is the subjection of the nations.” So, it is clear that He, to Whom and in Whom the hope of the nations is determined, has already come. The fulfillment of this is clearly seen from the multitude of people who from different nations believed in God through Christ. 4. The song of Deuteronomy prophetically indicates the future election of foolish nations for the sins of the former people, which was accomplished not through anyone else, but precisely through Christ. “They,” he says, “have provoked Me not with God; they have grieved Me with their vain things: and I will provoke them with a people that is not a people; One can very clearly understand how the Jews, according to the word of Scripture, irritated God not with God, but angered Him with their idols, were aroused to envy not by a people, but by a foolish people: God chose this people through the coming of Christ and through His disciples. Indeed, we see “brethren who are called: there are not many of you wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the strong; God chose the base things of the world and the things that are despised, and the things that are not, to bring to nothing the things that are” (1 Cor. 1:26-28). And let not Israel according to the flesh, which the apostle calls flesh, boast before God. 4. The song of Deuteronomy prophetically indicates that for the sins of the former people a foolish people will be chosen, and, of course, this is no other election than that which was accomplished through Christ. The prophecy says this: “They have provoked Me not by God; they have grieved Me with their vain things: and I will provoke them with a people that is not; I will provoke them with a senseless people.” It is quite clear to understand how the Jews, according to the word of the prophet, who irritated God not with gods, but angered Him with their idols, were themselves aroused to envy by the foolish people whom God had chosen through the coming of Jesus Christ and through His disciples. For the apostle says this: “Look, brethren, who you are called: not many of you are wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the strong things; God has chosen the base things of the world and the things that are despised, and the things that are not, to bring to nothing the things that are.” So let not carnal Israel boast, for the apostle cries: “Let not all flesh boast before God.” 5. And what should be said regarding the prophecy of Christ in the Psalms, between which one song is inscribed: “About the Beloved”? “His (Beloved’s) tongue,” says this song, “is a scribbler’s reed: more beautiful than the sons of men, grace poured out from His mouth” (Psalm 44.2–3). The proof of the grace poured out in the mouth of Him (Jesus Christ) is that His teaching and the worship established by Him filled the entire universe, although the time of His teaching was short, since He taught for only a year and a few months. The righteous and the abundance of peace appeared “in His days” (Jesus Christ), which will remain until the consummation called (in the psalms) the taking away of the moon, and He “will rule from sea to sea and from the rivers to the end of the world” (Psalm 71.7–8). A sign was also given to the house of David: for the Virgin was with child and gave birth to a Son, and His name was Emmanuel, which means: “God is with us” (Isaiah 7.14). The words of the same prophet were fulfilled: “God is with us; Understand, O peoples, and submit, O mighty ones, submit” (Isaiah 8.9) - for we are subdued and overcome, taken captive from among the nations by the grace of His word. In the book of the prophet Micah, the place of His birth was also predicted: “And you, he says, Bethlehem, the land of Judah, are not the smallest among the leaders of Judah, for from you will come a Leader who will shepherd My people Israel” (Mic. 5.2-4). Seventy weeks were fulfilled until Christ the Leader, according to Daniel (Dan. ch. 9). The One who, according to Job, defeated the great whale and gave power to His true disciples to step on snakes and scorpions, and all the forces of the enemy, without suffering any harm from them, came. Let anyone also pay attention to the travels everywhere of the apostles sent by Jesus to preach the Gospel - and he will see (in this sermon) both superhuman courage and the will of God. If we consider how people, listening to new teachings and alien speech, joined these men (apostles), defeated, in their desire to harm them, by some divine power that protected them, then we will not doubt whether they really worked miracles, since God confirmed their words with signs and wonders, and various powers. 5. And what should be said about the prophecies about Christ in the Psalms, especially in the one that is inscribed: “Song of the Beloved”? Here it is said that His “tongue” is “a writing reed: more beautiful than the sons of men, grace poured out from His lips.” The proof of the grace poured out in His mouth is that the whole universe was filled with His teaching and pious faith, although He spent a short time (in teaching), for He taught for a year and several months. The righteous and the abundance of peace appeared “in His days” (Jesus Christ), which will remain until the consummation called (in the psalms) the taking away of the moon, and He “will possess from sea to sea and from rivers to the end of the world.” A sign was also given to the house of David, for the Virgin conceived in her womb and gave birth to Emmanuel, which means: “God is with us.” “Understand, O peoples, and submit”: and, indeed, we are subdued and defeated, belonging to (different) nations, constituting, as it were, some spoil of His victory, and bowing our necks to His grace. The place of His birth was also predicted in the words of the prophet Micah: “And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are not small among the leaders of Judah, for from you will come a Leader to reign over My people Israel.” The seven years before Christ the Leader, predicted by the prophet Daniel, have also been fulfilled. In the same way, He came who, according to the book of Job, was supposed to destroy the great beast: He gave His closest disciples the power to step on snakes and scorpions, and all the power of the enemy, without suffering any harm from them. If anyone pays attention to the travels of Christ’s apostles to different places where they, sent by Christ, preached the Gospel, he will find that the work they dared to undertake was beyond human strength, and that what they could accomplish was given by God. If we consider how people, hearing from them the preaching of a new teaching, could accept them, and often even, wanting to destroy them, were tamed by some divine power that helped them, then we will find that in this matter nothing was accomplished by human forces, but everything was done by divine power and providence, since obvious and undoubted signs and forces testified in favor of their words and teachings. 6. By briefly proving the deity of Jesus and citing prophetic words about Him, we, at the same time, prove that the Scriptures that prophesied about Him are inspired by God, that the books that proclaim His coming and teaching are divine - books written with full power and authority and therefore have conquered the best people from (different) nations. But it must be said that the divine inspiration of the prophetic words and the spiritual meaning of the Mosaic Law became clear (only) with the coming of Christ. Before the coming of Christ it was not possible to provide clear evidence of the inspiration of the Old Testament Scriptures. The coming of Christ provided those who could assume that the law and the prophets were not divine, provided obvious proof that they were written by the power of heavenly grace. However, whoever diligently and carefully reads the prophetic words will, during his very reading, feel a trace of divine inspiration and through this experience will be convinced that the Scriptures, recognized as the words of God, are (indeed) not human. Thus, the light belonging to the law of Moses, (but) covered with a veil, shone with the coming of Christ, when the veil was removed and those blessings were gradually revealed, the shadow of which the letter contained. 6. Having proved this briefly, i.e. the deity of Jesus Christ and the fulfillment of all prophecies about Him, we, as I think, have at the same time proven that the very Scriptures that prophesied about Him and predicted His coming, and the power of His teaching, and the acceptance (into the church) of all nations, that these Scriptures are inspired by God. To this we must add that the divinity and divine inspiration of prophetic prophecy and the Mosaic Law have become especially clear and undoubted since the coming of Christ to this world. Of course, the prophecies were true and inspired by God even before the fulfillment of what was predicted by them, but it was impossible to prove their truth, because they had not yet been confirmed by fulfillment. The coming of Christ showed that the words of the prophecies were true and inspired by God, whereas previously it was considered doubtful whether what was predicted would be fulfilled. However, if anyone, with all diligence and due blessing, examines the prophetic words, then, during the very reading and careful study, he will probably experience in his mind and feeling the action of some divine inspiration and, thus, learn that the words he reads did not come from people, but are the essence of God, and he will feel in himself that the (sacred) books were written not with human art and not in mortal language, but, so to speak, in a divine style. So, the light of Christ’s coming, illuminating the law of Moses with the radiance of truth, removed the veil of the letter that lay over the law and revealed to all those who believe in Christ all the benefits previously hidden by the veil of the word. 7. It would be a long time now to collect the most ancient prophecies about every future event, so that the doubter, being amazed by their divine inspiration, would leave all doubt and indecision and surrender with all his soul to the words of God. If it seems to the inexperienced that in various places of Scripture there are thoughts that do not exceed the human mind, then this is not at all surprising. Among the works of providence, which embraces the whole world, some (cases) are very clearly presented as precisely the works of providence, while others are so hidden that, apparently, they give room for mistrust whether God really controls everything with indescribable skill and power. Thus, the creative thought of the Provider is not as clear in earthly objects as in the sun, moon, and stars, not as clear in human events as in the souls and bodies of animals, especially for those who are trying to find why and for what reason animals have exactly such aspirations, desires, nature, why (exactly such) structure of bodies. But just as the providence for those (persons) who once properly recognized it is not diminished due to the unknown, so the divinity of Scripture, which extends to the whole of Scripture, loses nothing from the fact that our weakness cannot find in every saying the hidden light of dogmas contained in an insignificant and despised word. “We carry treasure in earthen vessels” (2 Cor. 4.7), so that the greatness of God’s power may shine forth and it would not seem that (this treasure) belongs to us people. After all, if the Bible defeated people through the usual ways of evidence among people, then it would be fair to place our faith in human wisdom, and not in the power of God. Now, for anyone who does not close his eyes, it is clear that the word and preaching affect many people not with convincing words of wisdom, but with a manifestation of the spirit and power. Therefore, since heavenly or even higher heavenly power prompts us to honor the One who created us, let us try to leave the word of the beginning of Christ, i.e. instruction in the first principles, and move on to perfection, so that the Wisdom proclaimed by the perfect may be preached to us. For the one who has acquired wisdom (the apostle) promises to preach it among the perfect - a wisdom different from the wisdom of this age and from the transitory wisdom of the princes of this age. This particular Wisdom will be clearly presented to us and will reveal the mystery that was hidden in eternal times, but has now been revealed through the prophetic Scriptures and thanks to the appearance of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, to whom be glory throughout all ages. Amen. 7. But to count all the prophecies ever prophesied by the prophets (and show) how and when they were fulfilled, in order to convince those who doubt, is a rather difficult task. Anyone who wishes to know this more thoroughly can gather from the (holy) books themselves the most abundant evidence of the truth. If, however, people who are little versed in the divine sciences do not immediately understand the meaning of the letter, which apparently exceeds the strength of man, then there is nothing surprising in the fact that the divine is comprehended by people with some slowness and is hidden from them all the more because someone is less faithful or unworthy. After all, it is known that everything that is or happens in this world is controlled by the providence of God. But some phenomena are quite clearly arranged by the management of the fishery; other phenomena develop so hiddenly and so incomprehensibly that the method of divine providence remains completely hidden in them, and some people sometimes do not believe that any phenomena are related to providence, because they do not know the way in which the affairs of divine providence are managed, with some ineffable art. However, this method is not equally hidden from all (beings): even among people themselves, one notices it less, another more, and every person who lives on earth as an inhabitant of heaven knows it more than others. At the same time, it is revealed that (God) has a different way of controlling bodies, a different way of controlling trees, a different way of controlling animals, and also a different way of controlling souls, hidden (from man); as for how divine providence controls the various movements of minds, then, of course, this is mostly hidden from people, but not to a small extent, I think, is hidden from the angels. But people who are confident in the existence of providence do not reject divine providence on the grounds that they cannot comprehend with the human mind the affairs and orders of providence. In the same way, one cannot deny the divine inspiration of Holy Scripture, which penetrates its body on the grounds that the weakness of our understanding is not able to find secret and hidden thoughts in every single word. Meanwhile, in the despised and ugly vessels of words, the treasure of divine Wisdom is hidden, as the Apostle shows when he says: “We carry the treasure in earthen vessels,” so that the power of the power of God may shine all the more when no embellishment of human eloquence is mixed with the truth of dogmas. If our books were written with rhetorical skill or with philosophical wit, and by this very means attracted people to faith, then, no doubt, they would think that our faith consists in verbal art and in human wisdom, and not in the power of God. Now everyone knows that the word of this sermon has been accepted by very many people almost throughout the entire universe, so that it has become clear to everyone that the teaching of this faith does not consist in convincing words of human wisdom, but in the manifestation of spirit and power. Therefore, we, brought by heavenly or even more than heavenly power to faith and obedience, precisely to honor the one Creator of all as our God, will try with special zeal to abandon the teaching about the principles of Christ, i.e. about the first principles of knowledge, and move on to perfection, so that the Wisdom that is transmitted by perfection would also be communicated to us. This is precisely what the one who was entrusted with the preaching of this Wisdom promises; he says: “We preach wisdom among the perfect, but the wisdom is not of this age and not of the passing powers of this age.” From this it is clear that in relation to the beauty of the word, this Wisdom of ours has nothing in common with the wisdom of this world. It is this Wisdom that will be written with complete clarity and perfection in our hearts if it is revealed to us, in accordance with the revelation of the mystery, which was hidden in eternal times, but has now been revealed through the prophetic Scriptures and thanks to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Chapter 2. About the fact that many have strayed into heresy, not understanding the Scripture spiritually and understanding (it) poorly 8. After a quick discussion about the inspiration of Divine Scripture, it is necessary to move on to the method of reading and understanding Scripture, since a lot of misconceptions have occurred due to the fact that many have not found the path to follow when reading the Holy Scripture. Thus, the hard-hearted and inexperienced among those who belonged to the circumcision did not believe in our Savior, because they considered it necessary to follow the letter of the prophecy about Him, but did not sensually see that He preached liberation to the captives, that He would really establish the kingdom of God that they imagined, that He would destroy the chariots of Ephraim and the horses in Jerusalem (Zechariah 9.10), that He would eat oil and honey and choose good before He knew and chose evil (Isaiah 7.15). They thought that according to the prophecy the wolf, a four-legged animal, would graze with the lamb, and the leopard would rest with the kid; the calf, the ox and the lion will graze together, under the supervision of a little boy, the ox and the bear will feed together, and their children will eat together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox (Isa. 11). Not seeing anything sensually about the coming of Christ, in whom we believe, they did not accept our Lord Jesus, but crucified Him as having unlawfully declared Himself to be Christ. As for the heretics, they read in Scripture the words: “A fire was kindled in My wrath” (Jer. 15.14), and: “a zealot who punishes the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation” (Ex. 20.5), and: “I regret that I made Saul king” (1 Sam. 15.11), and: “I make peace and bring about disasters” (Isa. 45.7), and in another place: “Is there a disaster in a city that the Lord would not allow?” (Amos. 3.6), and also: “calamity came from the Lord to the gates of Jerusalem” (Mic. 1.12), and: “An evil spirit from God fell upon Saul” (1 Sam. 18.10). Reading these and many other places similar to them, the heretics did not dare to deny the divinity of the Scriptures, but, believing that these Scriptures belong to the Creator, Whom the Jews serve, they came to the idea that this Creator is not perfect and not good, but the Savior came to proclaim a more perfect God, Who, they say, is not the Creator; expressing different opinions on this issue and once departing from the Creator, Who is God, the only unborn, they indulged in inventions and invent for themselves the reasons on which, as they believe, the visible happened, as well as something else, invisible, which their soul imagined. Finally, ordinary people who boast that they belong to the church do not recognize anyone higher than the Creator and in this case they act sensibly, but (on the other hand) they come up with things about Him that cannot be thought of even about the most cruel and unjust person. 8. Having briefly discussed that the Holy Scriptures are inspired by the Holy Spirit, it seems necessary to also explain how some people, having read (the Scriptures) incorrectly, have indulged in so many errors - precisely because many do not know which way to go to understand the divine Scriptures. Thus, the Jews, due to the hardness of their hearts, in which they want to appear wise to themselves, did not believe in our Lord and Savior. They thought that what was said about Him should be taken literally, i.e. that He had to sensually and visibly preach release to the captives, and that first - “He had to create a kingdom, which, in their opinion, is truly the kingdom of God, that at the same time He had to destroy the chariots of Ephraim and the horse in Jerusalem, that He also had to eat oil and honey and choose good before learning to reject evil. They thought that the wolf, a four-legged animal, at the coming of Christ, according to prophecy, would graze with the lambs, and the leopard would rest with the goats, and the calf and bull would graze with the lions, and a little boy would lead them to the pasture; The bull and the bear will lie together in the pastures, and their children will eat together, and the lions will stand at the manger together with the bulls and will eat straw. So, seeing that of all these prophecies about Christ, according to which, as they believed, it was primarily necessary to observe the signs of the coming of Christ, nothing was fulfilled historically, they did not want to recognize the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and even nailed Him to the cross, as having appropriated the name of Christ improperly, i.e. contrary to the evidence of prophecy. The heretics found in Scripture the words of the law: “A fire was kindled in My wrath,” and: “a zealot who punishes the children for the iniquity of their fathers to the third and fourth generation,” and: “I regret that I made Saul king,” and: “I make peace and bring about disasters,” and in another place: “Is there a disaster in a city that the Lord would not allow?”, and again: “a disaster has come from the Lord to the gates of Jerusalem,” and: “An evil spirit from God came upon Saul.” Reading these and many other similar passages in Scripture, the heretics did not dare to say that these Scriptures did not belong to God, but decided that they belonged to the Creator, the God whom the Jews revered; this God, in their opinion, should be considered only just, but not good, but the Savior came to announce to us a more perfect God, Who, according to their teaching, is no longer the creator of the world - and they express contradictory opinions about Him. Having once departed from the faith in God the Creator, Who is the God of all, they indulged in various fictions and fables: they come up with different doctrines and say that some (creatures) are visible and created by one creator, while others are invisible and created by another creator, as the imagination and vanity of their souls inspired them. Finally, some of the simple believers - i.e. of those who, apparently, adhere to the church faith, do not recognize anyone above God the Creator and in this case retain the correct and sound teaching, but (on the other hand) they think about Him such things as cannot be thought about even the most unjust and cruel person. 9 . For all the above-mentioned people, the reason for false, wicked and unreasonable opinions about God seems to be nothing more than an understanding of Scripture not according to the spirit, but according to the bare letter. Therefore, people who are convinced that the sacred books are not human writings, but were written and came to us by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, according to the will of the Father of all through Jesus Christ, and who adhere to the rule of the heavenly church of Jesus Christ by Succession from the Apostles, need to be shown the right path (interpretation of Scripture). All, even the simplest of the followers of the Word, believe that the divine Scripture indicates some mysterious orders; but what kind of orders these are, prudent and modest people admit that they do not know this. So, if someone asks (them) about Lot’s incest with his daughters, or about Abraham’s two wives, or about two sisters who married Jacob, and about two slave women who gave birth to children from him, then they will only say that these are secrets incomprehensible to them. Also, reading about the construction of the tabernacle and being convinced that what is described represents images, they look for what can correspond to each individual message regarding the tabernacles. In the conviction that the tabernacle is an image of something, they are not mistaken; but in the application of the thought worthy of Scripture, the image of which the tabernacle serves, in each particular (in the structure of the tabernacle) they sometimes make mistakes. And every story that seems to tell about marriages, or the birth of children, or wars, or any other incidents that people talk about, they recognize as an image; but what kind of things exactly the story about each of these objects serves as an image remains not entirely clear, partly due to the insufficient development (of their) ability (to interpret), partly due to recklessness, sometimes due to the extreme difficulty of explaining these things to people, even experienced and insightful ones. 9 . The reason for the erroneous understanding of all this among the above-mentioned people was, of course, that they understand the Holy Scriptures not in the spiritual sense, but in the letter. Therefore, to people who believe that the Holy Scriptures are not some human words, but were written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and were handed down and entrusted to us, according to the will of God the Father, through His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, we, to the best of our mediocre mind, will try to indicate that path of understanding, which, according to our observation, seems to us correct, and that rule and teaching that the apostles received from Jesus Christ, and then successively passed on to their successors, subsequent teachers of the church. All believers, even, as I think, the simplest of them, confess that the Holy Scriptures announce some mysterious orders. But what these orders are or what kind they are - a person of sound mind, and not suffering from the vice of boasting, admits in good conscience that he does not know. If someone asks us, for example, about the daughters of Lot, who unlawfully entered into a relationship with (their) father, or about the two wives of Abraham, or about the two sisters who married Jacob, or about the two slave women who bore him many sons, then what can we answer to this, except that these are some secrets and images of spiritual things, although we do not know what kind of things. Also, when we read about the construction of the tabernacle, we probably know that what is described represents images of certain mysterious objects; but to apply all this properly and to explain and tell everything about each individual part of the tabernacle, in my opinion, is very difficult and even, perhaps, impossible. However, the very fact that this description is full of secrets, as I said, does not escape even ordinary understanding. In the same way, every story about marriages, or about the birth of children, or about various battles, or about some other events, is, one must think, nothing more than forms and images of hidden and sacred things. But since people make little effort to exercise the mind or consider themselves to know even before learning, then it happens that they never begin to know. If there is no lack of either diligence or teacher, if a person studies the Scripture as divine, i.e. piously and piously, and at the same time hopes most of all for the help of the revelation of God - since all this, of course, is very difficult and mysterious for the human mind - if someone seeks like this, he may finally find what can be found. 10. What should be said about prophecies, which, as we all know, are filled with mysterious and dark expressions? If we turn to the Gospels, then an accurate understanding of these (books), like the understanding of Christ, is possible only with the help of grace, which was given to the one who said: “We have the mind of Christ, that we may know the things freely given to us from God, which we proclaim not in words learned from human wisdom, but in words learned from the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 2:1, 16.12-13). Reading the revelation of John, who will not be struck by the mystery of the ineffable mysteries that appear to one who does not understand what is written? In the same way, to what person who knows how to examine thoughts will the epistles of the apostles seem clear and easily understandable, when here too there are countless passages presenting, as if through a window, considerable material for the greatest and most numerous reflections? Therefore, if this is so and if many people are mistaken, then it is not safe to declare to anyone that, when reading (the Scriptures), he supposedly easily understands what is needed for the key of understanding, which, according to the Savior’s word, is found among the lawyers. By the way, some argue that before the coming of Christ people did not possess the truth; Let them explain how our Lord Jesus Christ says that the key of understanding is found precisely in those who, according to them, do not have books containing ineffable and perfect secrets of knowledge? For the saying goes like this: “Woe to you lawyers, because you took the key of understanding and did not enter in and hindered those who were entering” (Luke 11:52). 10. But one should not think that this difficulty is inherent only in prophetic speeches, since everyone knows that prophetic speech is strewn with images and riddles: don’t we find the same thing in the Gospels? Isn’t there an inner meaning hidden in them, like a divine meaning, which is revealed only through the grace that he who said: “We have the mind of Christ, that we may know what has been given to us from God, which we proclaim not from human wisdom in words learned, but learned from the Holy Spirit.” Reading the Revelation of John, who will not be struck by such a great mystery of the ineffable mysteries contained in this book? Even people who cannot understand what exactly is hidden in these revelations, however, clearly understand that something is hidden here. And the apostolic epistles - which, however, seem clearer to some - are not filled with such deep thoughts that for those who can understand the thought of divine Wisdom, through these epistles, as if through some small hole, the radiance of the strongest light flows in, as it seems to them? Therefore, if all this is so, and if many in this life are mistaken, then, I think, it is not safe to frivolously say that anyone knows or understands something for which the key of understanding is needed - the key that, according to the Savior, is found with the lawyers. By the way, some say that before the coming of the Savior, people who lived under the law did not have the truth; now, although it is not entirely appropriate, I consider it necessary to ask them how our Lord Jesus Christ says that the keys of understanding are in people who have in their hands the books of the prophets and the law? After all, He said this: “Woe to you lawyers, because you took the key of understanding and did not enter in and hindered those who were entering.” 11. So, the method we propose for reading the Scriptures and finding their meaning is based on the sayings themselves (of the Scriptures) and consists of the following. In Solomon in Proverbs we find this injunction regarding the divine dogmas recorded (in the sacred books): “Did I not write to you three times in advice and instruction, to teach you the exact words of truth, so that you might convey the words of truth to those who send you?” (Proverbs 22.21). Consequently, the thoughts of the sacred books should be written down in one’s soul in three ways: a simple believer should be edified, as it were, by the flesh of Scripture (as we call the most accessible meaning); somewhat perfect (must be edified) as if by his soul; and even more perfect and similar to those from which the apostle speaks: “We preach wisdom among those who are perfect, but the wisdom not of this age, and not of the passing powers of this age. But we preach the secret, hidden Wisdom of God, which God intended before the ages for our glory, which none of the authorities of this age knew” (1 Cor. 2.6–7), - such a person must be edified by the spiritual law, which contains within itself the shadow of future blessings. For just as a person consists of body, soul and spirit, in the same way the Scripture, given by God for the salvation of people, consists of body, soul and spirit. In accordance with this, we interpret the narrative of the book “The Shepherd,” which is neglected by some. There is a story here that Erm received orders to write two books and then proclaim to the church elders what he had learned from the Spirit. Here is the saying itself: “Write two books and give one to Clement and one to Grapta; Grapta will instruct widows and orphans, the Client will send (the book) to the outer cities, and you will announce it to the elders of the church.” The Grapta, instructing widows and orphans, is a bare letter, teaching people who still remain children at heart and cannot yet recognize God as their Father, and therefore are called orphans; the letter also teaches those women (i.e., those souls) who no longer live with an illegitimate husband, but become widows, not yet becoming worthy of a groom. Clement, having already left the letter, according to the Shepherd, sends the book to external cities: by these cities we mean souls who are outside of bodily and earthly thoughts. The disciple of the Spirit himself receives an order to proclaim to the elders of the entire church of God, who are gray in wisdom - to proclaim no longer through writing, but in living words. 11. But as we began to say, the correct path to understanding the Scriptures and to finding their meaning seems to us to be the path that Scripture itself shows us, teaching us exactly how to think about it. In Solomon in Proverbs we find this injunction about reverence for the Holy Scriptures: “Did I not write to you three times in advice and instruction, to teach you the exact words of the truth, so that you might convey the words of truth to those who send you?” So, everyone must write down the thought of the divine Scriptures in his soul in three ways: ordinary people must be edified by the body of Scripture itself, so to speak (as we call the ordinary and historical sense); whoever has begun to prosper somewhat and is able to contemplate something greater must be edified by the soul of Scripture; perfect and similar to those about whom the apostle says: “We preach wisdom among those who are perfect, but the wisdom is not of this age and not of the powers of this passing age. But we preach the Wisdom of God, secret, hidden, which God destined before the ages for our glory, which none of the authorities of this age knew,” such should be edified, as it were, by the spirit, by a spiritual law containing within itself the shadow of future blessings. Thus, just as man is said to consist of body, soul and spirit, so the Holy Scriptures, given by divine bounty for the salvation of men, also consist of body, soul and spirit. This, as we see, is indicated in the book “The Shepherd,” which is apparently neglected by some. Here Erm receives orders to write two books and then proclaim to the church elders what he has learned from the Spirit. This order is expressed in the words: “And write,” he says, “two books, and give one to Clement and one to Grapta; Let Grapta exhort the widows and orphans, and let Clement send to all the outer cities; and you will tell the elders of the church.” The grapta, receiving the order to admonish orphans and widows, is the simple meaning of the letter itself, by which children's souls are edified, not yet worthy of having God as their father, and therefore called orphans. Widows are those souls who have left an illegitimate husband, with whom they were united illegally, but remain widows because they have not yet been perfected to unite with the heavenly Bridegroom. Further, Clement receives orders to send what was said (to him) to the outer cities, i.e. to those who have already departed from the letter, or, in other words, to those souls who, having been taught these words, have already abandoned bodily care and carnal desires. Erm himself, having learned from the Holy Spirit, receives orders to announce to the church elders, i.e. to people who have a mature sense of prudence, capable of spiritual teaching - to proclaim it no longer through writing, not through a book, but with a living voice. 12. But since there are some Scriptures that do not have a bodily meaning at all, as we will show later, then in some places of Scripture we must look only for soul and spirit. And perhaps that is why the waterpots set up for the purification of the Jews, as we read in the Gospel of John, contain two or three measures (John 2.6). This story secretly points to those whom the apostle calls “Jews in secret” (Rom. 2.20); it is he who shows that these Jews are purified by the word of the Scriptures, which in places contain two measures, i.e. so to speak, mental and spiritual meaning, but in places there are three measures, since some places, in addition to the above, also have a bodily meaning, which can also edify. And six water bearers probably mean those being purified in the world that happened in six days (this number is perfect). That the first (bodily) meaning in itself can be useful is evidenced by many people who have believed truly, but simply. An example of an interpretation that is raised, as it were, to the soul of Scripture is the following passage from the Apostle Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians: “It is written,” he says, “You shall not muzzle an ox that is threshing” (1 Cor. 9:9). Then, explaining this law, he adds: “Does God care about oxen? Or is it being said for us? So, this is written for us; For he who plows must plow in hope, and he who threshes must thresh in hope of receiving what he expects” (1 Cor. 9:10). Very many (other) well-known sayings have the same character, adapted to the crowd and edifying people who cannot listen to the higher (teachings). 12. We must not forget that there are places in Scripture in which, as we will show later, what we called the body is not always reflected, i.e. There is no consistency of historical meaning - there are places where only the above-mentioned soul and spirit should be understood. This, I think, is also indicated in the Gospels, when it speaks of six waterpots placed for the purification of the Jews and containing two or three measures; as I said, the gospel story seems to point to those whom the apostle calls “the Jews in secret”; it is he who shows that these Jews are purified by the word of Scripture, sometimes taking two measures, i.e. according to the above, perceiving the spiritual and spiritual meaning, sometimes three, when a (known) section of Scripture can also be edifying in its physical or historical meaning. And six waterpots mean those who are purified while in this world - because, as we read, this world and everything in it are perfect in six days (this number is perfect). What a great benefit there is in this first sense, which we call historical, this is evidenced by the entire multitude of those believers who believe with sufficient firmness and simplicity; given that it is clearly open to everyone, it does not require much evidence. As for the meaning that we called above, as it were, the soul of Scripture, the Apostle Paul presented numerous examples of it, for example, in the first letter to the Corinthians. It says: “Do not muzzle the threshing ox.” Then, explaining how this injunction should be understood, the apostle adds, saying: “Does God care about oxen? Or is it being said for us? So, this is written for us; for he who plows must plow with hope, and he who threshes must thresh with the hope of receiving what he expects.” And very many other sayings of the same kind, taken from the law and interpreted in this way, provide great edification to ministers. 13. Spiritual interpretation is available to those who can show: the image and shadow of what heavenly things the Jews served in the flesh, and the shadow of what future blessings the law has. And in general, according to the apostolic command, in everything one must seek wisdom hidden in mystery, “which God intended before the ages for our glory, which none of the authorities of this age knew” (1 Cor. 2.7-8). Elsewhere, the same apostle, citing some sayings from Exodus and Numbers, says that “all this happened to them as images, but was described” for the sake of us, “who have reached the last ages” (1 Cor. 10.11) - and (then) he gives indications of what exactly these events served as images; he says: “They drank from the spiritual stone that followed, and the stone was Christ” (1 Cor. 10.4). In another letter, setting out the commands regarding the tabernacle, the apostle quotes the words: “Make everything according to the image shown to you on the mountain” (Heb. 8.5, Ex. 25.40). In the Epistle to the Galatians, the apostle seems to condemn those who consider it necessary to read the law, but do not understand it, and declares that those who do not understand the law are those who think that there are no allegories in what is written. “Tell me,” he says, “you who wish to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a bondwoman and the other by a freewoman. But he who is of a slave is born according to the flesh, and he who is of a free woman is born according to promise. There is an allegory in this. These are two covenants” (Galatians 4.21–24) and so on. In this saying you need to pay attention to each individual expression of the apostle. He says: “those who wish to be under the law,” and not “those who are under the law,” and: “do you not listen to the law?” These expressions show that hearing (the law) consists of understanding and knowledge. In his letter to the Colossians, briefly expressing the meaning of the entire law, he says: “Let no one judge you for food or drink, or for any holiday or new moon or Saturday: this is a shadow of the future” (Colossians 2.16–17). Even in his letter to the Hebrews, speaking about the circumcision, he writes: “who serve the image and shadow of heavenly things” (Heb. 8.5). But perhaps those who once recognized the apostle as a divine man, on the basis of these testimonies of his, will no longer doubt the five books bearing the name of Moses. Do you want to make sure that other historical events served as prototypes? You need to pay attention to the following passage from the Epistle to the Romans: “he kept for himself seven thousand people who did not bow the knee to Baal” (Rom. 11.4). Paul applied these words, found in the third book of Kings, to the Israelites by election, in the sense that not only the pagans, but also some of the people of God, benefited from the coming of Christ. 13. A spiritual interpretation is obtained when someone can show the images and shadows of what heavenly things the Jews in the flesh serve, and the shadow of what future blessings the law contains - and can also explain the meaning of other objects mentioned in Scripture. Spiritual interpretation also deals with the question of what that Wisdom is, hidden in mystery, “which God intended before the ages for our glory, which none of the authorities of this age knew.” The apostle himself applies a spiritual interpretation when he uses some examples from Exodus and Numbers and says that “all this happened to them as images, but was described” for the sake of us, “who have reached the last ages”; at the same time, so that we can understand what exactly these events were images of, the apostle gives us guidelines for (such) understanding; he says: “They drank from the spiritual stone that followed, and the stone was Christ.” In another letter, he recalls the word about the tabernacle that was commanded to Moses: “Make everything,” he says, “according to the image shown to you on the mountain.” In the epistle to the Galatians, the apostle condemns in words some people who, apparently, read the law, but do not understand it, because they do not know that there are allegories in what is written; The apostle, with some censure, says to such persons: “Tell me, you who want to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a bondwoman and the other by a freewoman. But he who is of a slave is born according to the flesh, and he who is of a free woman is born according to promise. There is an allegory in this. These are two covenants." Here it is necessary to note, as the apostle carefully put it: “If you wish to be under the law, do you not listen to the law?” Listen, i.e. understand and know. In the letter to the Colossians, briefly embracing and uniting the meaning of the entire law, the apostle says: “Let no one judge you for food or drink, or for any holiday or new moon or Saturday: this is a shadow of the future.” In his letter to the Hebrews, speaking regarding the circumcision, he says: “who serve the image and shadow of the heavenly things.” But perhaps those who accept the Apostle’s Scriptures as divine words, bearing in mind the evidence given, will no longer consider it possible to doubt the five books of Moses. If they ask about the rest of history, then it must be said that the events reported there also happened as an example to those about whom it is written (in history). We noticed that this is also said in the letter to the Romans, precisely in the place where the apostle gives an example from the third book of Kings, saying: “he kept for himself seven thousand men who did not bow the knee.” Paul accepted this saying as being spoken figuratively of those who are called Israelites by election; It is with these words that he proves that the coming of Christ brought benefit not only to the current pagans, but that very many of the people of Israel were also called to salvation. 14. If this is so, then (now) we need to depict the features of the understanding of Scripture that appear to us. First of all, it must be shown that the Spirit, according to the providence of God, through the Word who was in the beginning to God - the Spirit who enlightened the servants of truth, the prophets and the apostles, had in mind primarily the ineffable secrets about subjects relating to people. Now I call people the souls who use bodies for the purpose that those who can learn become partakers of all the dogmas of His (Spirit) council, exploring and surrendering to the depths of the mind hidden under words. As for the truths about souls, then - in view of the fact that souls can achieve perfection only with full and reasonable knowledge of God - among these truths in the foreground it was necessary to put the truths about God and His Only Begotten, namely, what is the nature of the Only Begotten, how He becomes the Son of God, for what reasons He descended even to human flesh and completely assumed man, what is the effect of this (incarnation), on whom and when it extends. Further, in the words of the divine teaching it was necessary to introduce reasoning about other rational beings akin to God, namely about divine beings and about beings who have fallen from bliss, as well as about the reasons for the fall of these latter - equally about the differences in souls, and where these differences came from, as well as about what the world is and for the sake of which it was created. We also need to learn where such great evil comes from on earth, and does it exist not only on earth, but also in other places? Having proposed this and similar things, the Spirit, who enlightened the souls of the holy ministers of truth, set Himself a second purpose - for the sake of those who cannot endure the labor necessary to find such truths - to hide the teaching of the above subjects in words that represent a story containing the story of sensible creations, about the creation of man and about the numerous descendants descended in succession from the first people, as well as in other stories telling about the deeds of the righteous and about the sins that these same righteous people committed, and about the depravity, unbridledness and greed of lawless and wicked people. But what is especially surprising is that even in the narrative of wars, of the victors and the vanquished, some untold secrets are revealed to those who can explore them. What is even more amazing is that through the written law the laws of truth are proclaimed, and they are all set out (here) coherently, with a power truly befitting the Wisdom of God: after all, it was necessary that the clothing of spiritual truths - I mean the body of Scripture - should not be useless for many, but could correct ordinary people, as far as they are capable of this correction. 14. If this is so, then (now), for example and example, we will present in general terms how we should understand the divine Scripture in various cases that may come our way. First of all, we repeat and show that the Holy Spirit, according to the providence and will of God, by the power of His Only Begotten Word, who was in the beginning with God, and by God, enlightened the servants of truth, the prophets and the apostles, to the knowledge of the secrets of those things or deeds that take place between people or concern people. Now I call people the souls that are in bodies. The prophets and apostles figuratively described these mysteries, known and revealed to them by Christ, as if talking about some human affairs or conveying some legal regulations and instructions. Thus, whoever wants to trample on these secrets, so to speak, does not have them before his feet; and whoever devotes himself to teaching of this kind with complete purity, sobriety and diligence, he can comprehend the hidden thought of the Spirit of God in the depths and in an ordinary story discover the connection of speech, directed towards something else, and thus can become an accomplice of spiritual knowledge and a participant in the divine council - because the soul can achieve perfection in knowledge only under the condition of inspiration by the truth of divine wisdom. So, these men, filled with the Holy Spirit, first of all communicate about God, i.e. about the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit; then, filled, as we have said, with the divine Spirit, they expounded the doctrine of the mysteries concerning the Son of God, namely how the Word became flesh and for what reason the Son descended even to take on the form of a slave. Further, they had to teach the mortal race with divine words also about rational creatures, both heavenly and the most blessed on earth, as well as about the differences in souls and where these differences came from. Then we needed to learn from divine words about what this world is and why it was created, also about where such great evil on earth comes from and whether it exists only on earth, or in some other places. Thus it was the intention of the Holy Spirit to enlighten holy souls devoted to the service of truth, (primarily) concerning these subjects and similar ones. But some people either cannot or do not want to devote themselves to work and art in order to be worthy of learning or knowledge about such great subjects. For the sake of these people, the Holy Spirit set His second goal, as we said above, to wrap up and hide hidden secrets in ordinary words, under the pretext of some narrative and story about visible objects. As a result of this (in Scripture), a story is introduced about the visible creation, about the creation and formation of the first man, then about the descendants that successively descended from him, it also tells about some acts committed by some righteous people, and sometimes some of their sins as people are also mentioned. Then, (here) some shameless and obscene deeds of the wicked (people) are described. It is also surprising that (in Scripture) there is even a narrative of battles, and various victors and vanquished are described - and for those who know how to examine words of this kind, these narratives point to some inexpressible mysteries. It is also amazing that by wise art the written law contains the law of truth and the prophets. All this is composed with some divinely wise art, like some clothing and veil of spiritual thoughts. This precisely constitutes what we have called the body of Holy Scripture; Through this garment of the letter, which we have indicated, woven with wise art, many people who are incapable of other edification should be edified and prosper. 15. But if in these clothes, i.e. In the history of the law, consistency was preserved in everything and order was observed, then we, not finding any obstacles to understanding, would certainly not believe that in the Holy Scriptures there is anything contained within, other than what appears at first glance. For this reason, divine Wisdom took care that, in the historical sense, (the Scriptures) there were some stumbling blocks and gaps, and for this purpose introduced into the Scriptures something impossible and incongruous. Thus, the very inconsistency of the narrative, as if by some kind of obstacle, should stop the reader and block his path to this ordinary understanding; and having rejected and removed us (from this path), it must encourage us to enter another path, so that through entering the bodily path we will discover the immeasurable breadth of divine knowledge and some higher and most excellent path. At the same time, we should also know that the main goal of the Holy Spirit is to preserve the consistency of spiritual meaning, both in what is about to happen and in events that have already passed. And so, where the Holy Spirit found it possible to apply historical events to a spiritual meaning, there He set out the text of both (historical and spiritual) narratives in the same words, always deeply hiding the mysterious meaning; where the history of events could not be applied to a spiritual sequence, there the Holy Spirit sometimes carried something that was not entirely historically true or completely impossible, sometimes possible, but in reality did not happen; and, moreover, in some cases He introduced a few words, which, according to bodily understanding, apparently cannot be true, in other cases He made large insertions, which is especially common in legislation. Here, in the most physical prescriptions there is a lot that is obviously useful, but there are also prescriptions in which absolutely no useful meaning is visible, and sometimes even impossible regulations are noticed. All this, as we said, the Holy Spirit arranged in order to encourage us, when it is impossible to find truth or benefit in what appears at first glance, to seek the highest truth and find a meaning worthy of God in the Scriptures, which we recognize as divinely inspired. 15. But if the usefulness of the law and the consistency and grace of historical narration were themselves revealed throughout (Scripture), then we would hardly think that there could be any other meaning in Scripture than the immediate one. Therefore, the Word of God took care to introduce into the law and history some temptations, stumbling blocks and inconsistencies; without this, carried away by too attractive a word and not having learned anything worthy of God, we would finally fall away from God or, without deviating from the letter, we would remain not taught anything divine. In this case, you should know the following. The Word has the main purpose of announcing the connection in spiritual affairs, both those that have taken place and those that are about to take place. And so, where the Word found that historical events could correspond to these mysterious objects, there He took advantage of them (historical events) to hide the deepest meaning from the crowd; Where the historical story, written for the sake of the highest mysteries, did not correspond to the teaching about spiritual things, there Scripture wove into history something that did not actually happen - partly impossible at all, partly possible, but not what actually happened; and, moreover, in some places a few words are inserted that are not true in the physical sense, but in some places there are very many. The same must be said about the law: here you can often find instructions that are useful in themselves and correspond to the times of the law, but in other instructions there is no useful meaning. And sometimes the law prescribes even the impossible - and this is so that wiser and more insightful people, having devoted themselves to the study of what is written, will acquire for themselves the commendable conviction of the need to seek in such prescriptions a meaning worthy of God. 16. But the Holy Spirit did this not only in the Scriptures that appeared before the coming of Christ: since the Spirit is one and the same and from one God, He did the same in the Gospels and in the Apostolic Writings. These books do not contain completely pure history in the physical sense - many things are described here that actually did not happen; they also do not contain legislation and commandments that are completely consistent with reason. Who, having reason, would think that the first, second and third day, also the evening and morning were without the sun, moon and stars, and the first day - even without the sky? Who is so stupid as to think that God, in the likeness of a human farmer, planted a paradise in Eden in the east, and in it created the tree of life, visible and tangible, so that whoever eats from its fruit with his bodily teeth would thereby renew his life, and whoever eats from the fruit of the tree (of the knowledge) of good and evil would participate in good and evil? And if it is said that God walked in paradise in the evening, while Adam hid under a tree, then I think no one doubts that this story figuratively points to some mysteries through history that is only imaginary, but did not occur in a physical way. Also, Cain walking away from the face of God obviously encourages the prudent (readers) to examine what is the face of God and what does it mean to walk away from Him? But why talk a lot when people who are not completely stupid can collect countless such stories that are described as valid, but were not carried out according to the letter? The Gospels are also filled with stories of the same kind. For example, the devil takes Jesus to a high mountain to show Him the kingdoms of the whole world and their glory. Which of the people who read this not lightly will not condemn those who think that the Savior saw the kingdoms of the Persians, Scythians, Indians, Parthians and the glory that kings enjoy among people - saw with a sensual gaze that needs height in order to consider the objects below? The attentive reader can find in the Gospels many other stories similar to this, in order to make sure that the events that literally happened (here) are joined by others that did not actually happen. 16. But the Holy Spirit did this not only in the books written before the coming of Christ: since the Spirit is one and the same and comes from the same God, He did the same in the Writings of the evangelists and apostles - and He composed the narratives inspired through them not without this art of His Wisdom, which we indicated above. Therefore, here too He used a lot of things that disrupt and interrupt the order of the historical story - so that this story, by its very impossibility, would deflect and direct the reader’s attention to the study of the inner meaning. But so that we can actually find out what we are saying, let us cite the very passages of Scripture. What intelligent person, I ask, would find it reasonable to say that the first, second and third days, on which both evening and morning are mentioned, were without the sun, without the moon and without stars, and the first day even without the sky? Who would be so simple as to think that God, like some human farmer, planted trees in paradise, in Eden in the east, as if He planted in it the tree of life, namely a visible and tangible tree, so that whoever ate with his bodily teeth from this tree would receive life, and whoever ate from another tree would receive the knowledge of good and evil? No one, I think, also doubts that Scripture offers the story of God’s walk in paradise in the afternoon and the hiding of Adam under a tree in an allegorical sense, in order to designate certain mysteries. Cain walking away from the face of God obviously encourages the prudent reader to examine what the face of God is and how anyone can walk away from it (the face). But we need not enlarge more than we should on what we have in hand: anyone who wishes can very easily collect from the Holy Scriptures such narratives as seem to describe actual events, but which cannot properly and reasonably be recognized as actual in the historical sense. This method of Scripture is seen in abundance and in abundance in the books of the Gospels. Here, for example, it is said that the devil put Jesus on a high mountain so that from there he could show Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. How could it literally happen that Jesus was taken up by the devil to a high mountain, or that the devil showed Him to his carnal eyes all the kingdoms of the world, i.e. the kingdoms of the Persians, Scythians, Indians, as if lying below near one mountain, as well as the glory that the kings of these nations enjoy from people? Whoever reads more carefully will find in the Gospels many other stories similar to this, and will notice that to the stories, apparently set out in a literal sense, there are added and woven together with them such stories that cannot be accepted in a historical sense, but can be understood (only) in a spiritual sense. 17. If we come to the legislation of Moses, then many laws, considered in themselves, seem unreasonable, others impossible. It is unreasonable, for example, to prohibit eating kites, since even during the greatest famine, need has not forced anyone to resort to this animal. The law commands that eight-day-old uncircumcised boys be exterminated from among the people, whereas, if it were necessary to give any law to the letter in this case, then death should have been determined for the fathers or educators of these children. Now the Scripture says: “An uncircumcised male who does not circumcise his foreskin, that soul will be cut off from his people” (Gen. 17.14). If you want to know the laws that prescribe the impossible, then let us pay attention to the fact that Tragelaf belongs to animals that do not exist in reality, meanwhile, Moses commands us to sacrifice it as a clean animal. It is also unheard of for a person to ever come across a vulture, which, however, the legislator forbids to eat. The famous Sabbath, with the exact understanding of the words: “Sit every man in his house, and let none of you go out from his place on the seventh day” (Ex. 16.29), it is impossible to observe literally, because no animal can sit all day without moving. Therefore, the circumcised and those who do not want to reveal (in Scripture) anything except the letter, regarding some regulations do not even examine the reason for them - what are the laws about the tragelaph, the vulture and the vulture - for some laws they invent empty explanations, citing pathetic traditions: for example, about the Sabbath they say that everyone has a place of two thousand cubits. Others, to whom Dositheus the Samaritan belongs, condemn such an interpretation and think that everyone should remain until evening in the same position in which the Sabbath day found him. The command not to lift a load on the Sabbath day is also impossible to fulfill. Therefore, the Jewish teachers began to chatter, saying that such and such shoes constitute a burden, and such and such are not, that a sandal with nails is a burden, but without nails is not, and also that what is worn on one shoulder is a burden, but what is worn on both shoulders is not (a burden). 17. Something similar occurs in places that contain instructions. The Law of Moses, for example, commands the destruction of every boy who is not circumcised on the eighth day. But this is very inconsistent: if the law were given for literal execution, then punishment should have been established for parents who did not circumcise their sons, as well as for teachers of boys. Now the Scripture says: “But the uncircumcised male who does not circumcise his foreskin, that soul will be cut off from among his people.” If we need to find impossible laws, then we find a mention of tragelaf, which cannot exist at all, while Moses commands it to be eaten among clean animals. And the legislator forbids eating the vulture, while no one has ever heard or remembers that it could fall into human hands. The legislator speaks about the notorious keeping of the Sabbath: “Sit every man in his house, and let none of you depart from his place on the seventh day.” It is, of course, impossible to literally fulfill this (instruction), because not a single person can sit all day without moving from the place in which he sits. The circumcised and those who do not want to understand anything more in the Holy Scriptures than what the letter indicates, regarding all these decrees they think that these questions should not be asked about the tragelaph, the vulture and the vulture, but regarding the Sabbath they invent empty and frivolous fables, I don’t know from which traditions taken - they say that the place of each person is considered to be two thousand cubits. Others, to whom Dositheus the Samaritan belongs, condemn such interpretations, but they themselves affirm something even more ridiculous, namely, that everyone should remain until evening in the form, place and position in which the Sabbath day finds him, i.e. If Saturday finds someone sitting, then he must sit all day, if lying down, he must lie down all day. It seems to me that it is impossible to fulfill the following injunction: “Do not lift weights on the Sabbath.” Regarding these words, the Jewish teachers, as the apostle says, launched into endless fables: they say that if someone wears shoes without nails, then this is not considered heavy, but if someone wears ankle boots with nails, then this is considered heavy; in the same way, if someone carries something on one shoulder, they consider it a burden, but if on both shoulders, they do not recognize it as a burden. 18. If we turn to the Gospel and look for similar instructions here, then what could be more meaningless than the command: “Kiss no one on the way” (Luke 10.4, old ed.), which, according to the simple ones, the Savior gave to the apostles? Also, when it is said about a blow to the right cheek, it seems to be a highly incredible thing, because everyone who hits, unless he suffers from some natural defect, hits with his right hand on the left cheek. It is impossible to understand from the Gospel how the right eye serves as a temptation. After all, if we admit that someone can be tempted through sight, then why should the cause (temptation) be attributed specifically to the right eye, although both eyes are looking? Would anyone act justly if, condemning himself for looking at a woman with desire, he attributed the reason (for this) to the right eye alone? The apostle also commands, saying: “If anyone is called to be circumcised, do not hide” (1 Cor. 7.18). Firstly, anyone who wants to see that the apostle says this not in accordance with the conversation that he himself proposed above: in fact, when giving laws on marriage and purity, was it not in vain that he inserted these words? Secondly, who can say that a person would sin if he tried, if possible, to “make himself uncircumcised” for the sake of the shame that the people ascribe to circumcision? We said all this to prove that the divine power that gave us the Holy Scriptures had the purpose of preventing us from taking the words of Scripture only literally, since the words of Scripture are sometimes inconsistent with the truth, even meaningless and impossible: we wanted to prove that something else was added to the actual history and to the laws that are useful in the literal sense (in Scripture). 18. If we look for similar instructions in the Gospels, then wouldn’t the following saying, taken literally, seem absurd: “Kiss anyone on the way?” Meanwhile, the simple ones think that our Savior gave the apostles exactly such an instruction. And how can one fulfill (the commandment) regarding the fact that one should not have either two clothes or shoes (Matthew 10.10), especially in those countries where there is a very cruel and harsh winter with icy conditions? It is also commanded that the one receiving a blow on the right cheek should also turn his left; Meanwhile, anyone who hits with his right hand hits on the left cheek. The following gospel injunction should also be considered impossible: if your right eye is a temptation to you, then it must be torn out. If we assume that this is said about the carnal eyes, then how can we explain that the guilt of temptation relates to one eye, and specifically to the right one, although both eyes are looking? And doesn’t a person commit the greatest crime if he lays hands on himself? However, maybe there is nothing like that in the Writings of the Apostle Paul? But what does his words mean: “if anyone is called to be circumcised, do not hide himself”? If anyone examines this saying more carefully, then, firstly, will it not seem that it was expressed in a manner inconsistent with what the apostle spoke about earlier: after all, he was speaking regarding the regulations on marriage and purity - and, in this case, these words are, of course, not to the point. Secondly, what harm would it do if someone could “make himself uncircumcised” in order to avoid the shame that circumcision causes? Thirdly, it is even completely impossible to do this. We have said all this to prove that the Holy Spirit, who deigned to give us the divine Scriptures, did not at all intend that we could be edified by the letter alone, and precisely in all places of Scripture, for, as we notice, the letter often contains an impossible and insufficient meaning: through it sometimes not only the unreasonable, but also the impossible is indicated. No, the Holy Spirit had the goal of making us understand that (in the Holy Scriptures) something is connected with this visible history that, with the deepest consideration and understanding, communicates a law that is useful for people and worthy of God. 19. But someone might think that we say this about everything (the Holy Scriptures), that no narrative (of the Scriptures) is truly historical, unless one is valid, and no law should be kept literally, since some laws are unreasonable in the letter, or that what is written about the Savior is not true in a sensual sense, or that no law or commandment of Him should be fulfilled. Lest anyone think so, we must clearly say that in some narratives we recognize historical truth. Such, for example, are the stories that Abraham was buried in Hebron in a double cave, just like Isaac and Jacob, and one wife of each of them; that Shechem was given as an inheritance to Joseph, and Jerusalem is the capital of Judea, where Solomon built the church of God, and much more. The stories that are true in the historical sense are much more numerous than the purely spiritual ones attached to the former. And again, who will deny that the commandment that says: “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long on earth” (Exod. 20.12), without any higher interpretation, is useful and must be observed, especially since even the Apostle Paul brings it literally? What else can we say about the commandments: “Do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness”? (Ex. 20.13–14). The Gospel also contains such commandments about which there can be no question whether they must be observed to the letter or not. These are: “But I tell you that everyone who is angry with his brother,” etc., and: “But I tell you, do not swear at all” (Matthew 5.22:34). It is also necessary to observe the words of the Apostle: “Admonish the disorderly, comfort the faint-hearted, intercede for the weak, be patient with all” (1 Thess. 5:14) - although the most zealous people can find the depths of divine wisdom in each of these commandments, without at the same time denying the commandment in letter. Of course, an attentive reader in some cases will hesitate and, without careful research, will not be able to decide whether such and such an event in question actually happened according to the letter or not, and whether the letter of a known law must be observed or not. Therefore, the attentive reader, observing the command of the Savior, which reads: “Search the Scriptures” (John 5:39), should diligently examine where what the letter says is true and where it is impossible, and also on the basis of similar sayings, to the best of his ability, seek out the meaning explained throughout the Scriptures of what is impossible according to the letter. 19. But someone might think that we say this in the conviction that not a single narrative of Scripture is truly historical, since some of them, in our opinion, are invalid, or that no precepts of the law are valid in letter, because some of them, as contrary to reason or impossible in practice, according to us, cannot be fulfilled in letter, or that what is written about the Savior, in our opinion, was not done sensually, or that His commandments should not be fulfilled literally. The answer to this should be this: we clearly determine that in very many (narratives and commandments) historical truth can and should be preserved. Who can deny that Abraham was buried in the double cave in Hebron, as well as Isaac and Jacob, and one wife of each? Or who doubts that Shechem was given as an inheritance to Jehoshaph? Or that Jerusalem is the capital of Judea, in which the church was built by Solomon - as well as in countless other stories? There are many more stories that are true in a historical sense than stories that have only a spiritual meaning. Further, who will not agree that the commandment commanding: “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long on earth,” has meaning even without any spiritual interpretation, and must certainly be observed, especially since Paul confirmed this commandment by repeating it in the same words? Why talk more about the commandments: do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness - and other similar ones? In the same way, no one can doubt about the Gospel commandments, that many of them must be observed to the letter; such as, for example: “But I tell you not to swear at all” - or: “everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5.28). You also need to accept the instruction of the Apostle Paul: “Admonish the disorderly, comfort the faint-hearted, intercede for the weak, be patient with everyone” - and many other (instructions). However, whoever reads carefully will no doubt in many cases doubt whether to consider this or that narrative true, or not entirely reliable to the letter, and whether it is necessary or not to follow this or that prescription to the letter? For this reason, one must strive with great diligence and effort to ensure that every reader understands with all reverence that he is examining not human, but divine words contained in sacred books. 20. So, it is clear to readers that where a letter-based connection is impossible, there it is not impossible, but, on the contrary, a higher connection is true. Therefore, one must diligently seek out the full meaning (of Scripture), in which the story of the literally impossible is wisely combined with that which is not only possible, but also true in the historical sense, and which at the same time also has an allegorical meaning, just as what is not real in the letter. It is precisely in relation to all divine Scripture that we have determined that all of it has a spiritual meaning, but not all of it has a corporeal meaning, because in many places it is impossible to find a corporeal meaning. Therefore, one who reads the holy books fearing God, as the divine Scriptures, should have great attention. The nature of their understanding seems to us to be as follows. The Word (of God) proclaims that God has chosen for Himself a certain people on earth, which are called in Scripture by many names. So, this whole people is called Israel, and is also called Jacob. After the division during the time of Jerobaam the son of Novat, the ten tribes subject to Jerobaam began to be called Israel, while the remaining two and the tribe of Levi, ruled by kings from the seed of David, (began to be called) Judah. And the whole place that this people occupied and that was given to them by God is called Judea; its capital is Jerusalem, - of course, the capital of those many cities whose names are scattered throughout the scriptures, but are also collected into one in the book of Joshua. 20. So, the understanding, which, as we see, should be observed in a dignified manner and consistently, in relation to the Holy Scripture, in our opinion, is that the Divine Scripture preaches that God has chosen for Himself a certain people on earth and calls this people by very many names. Sometimes this whole people is called Israel, sometimes Jacob. This people was divided by Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, into two parts - and the ten tribes that submitted to him were called Israel, while the other two, with which were the tribe of Levi, and the line that came from the line of David, were called Judah. And all the places that this people owned and which they received from God were called Judea. Its capital was Jerusalem, and the capital (metropolis) is called the mother of many cities. You will find the names of these cities scattered throughout various sacred books; in the book of Joshua they are contained collected together. 21. With all this in mind and elevating our thoughts, the apostle says in one place: “Look at Israel according to the flesh” (1 Cor. 10.18), - with these words he seems to show that there is some kind of Israel according to the spirit. And in another place he says: “The children of the flesh are not the children of God; not all are Israelites who are of Israel" (Rom. 9.8:6), "For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that is outwardly in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and that circumcision which is in the heart is in the Spirit, and not in the letter” (Rom. 2.28-29). But the judgment about the Jew is based on a hidden (internal sign); one must think that, corresponding to the physical people of the Jews, there is also a certain people of “Jews in secret”, whose soul acquired this nobility for some unspeakable reasons. In addition, many prophecies speak about Israel and Judah, announcing the future to them. Is it really true that so many promises written in these prophecies are base in letter, not representing anything sublime and worthy of the divine promise - do they really not require a mysterious interpretation? If the promises are spiritual, although they are proclaimed through sensible things, then those to whom these promises are given are not physical. But in order not to dwell long on the saying about “the Jew in secret” and about Israel according to the inner man - since this is enough for people who are not inactive - we return to the previous discussion and say that Jacob is the father of the twelve patriarchs, and these are the fathers of the ancestors of the people, the latter, in turn, are the fathers of all subsequent Israelites. So, what? The carnal Israelites go back in origin to the ancestors of the people, the ancestors to the patriarchs, the patriarchs to Jacob and his ancestors. And the spiritual Israelites, of whom the carnal Israelites were an image, do not they come from certain generations, and the generations came from the tribes, and the tribes from one person, who has no longer this physical origin, but a better one - who also came from Isaac, the son of Abraham, while they are all traced back to Abraham, who, according to the Apostle, is Christ? After all, every origin of tribes in the very depths began from Christ to the same extent as from the God of all, because Christ, after the God and Father of all, also serves as the father of every soul, just as Adam is the father of all people. And if Eve served the apostle as an image of the church, then it is not surprising that Cain, who descended from Eve, and all subsequent people, ascending by origin to Eve, serve as images of the church, since, in the highest sense, everyone originated from the church. 21. Having all this in mind and wanting, as it were, to lift our understanding from the earth and elevate it, the apostle says in one place: “look at Israel according to the flesh.” With these words, he indicates, of course, that there is another Israel - Israel not according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. And in another place he says: “and not all those Israelites who are from Israel.” 22. If what we have said about Israel, and about the tribes, and about its generations is convincing, then the word of the Savior: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15.24) we do not understand the same way as the poor in mind Ebionites, who are so named for their poverty of mind, because in Hebrew Ebion means poor; we do not think that Christ came primarily to the carnal Israelites, “the children of the flesh are not the children of God” (Rom. 9.8). The apostle also expresses a similar teaching about Jerusalem; he says that “Jerusalem above is free: she is the mother of us all” (Galatians 4.26). And in another message: “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God. to the heavenly Jerusalem and ten thousand angels, to the triumphant council and church of the firstborn, who are written in heaven” (Heb. 12.22). So, if in the generation of souls there is Israel, and if there is some city of Jerusalem in heaven, then it follows that heavenly Jerusalem serves as the capital for the Israeli cities and, therefore, for all (heavenly) Judea. Therefore, if we listen to Paul, as God and also the herald of Wisdom, then we must think that all the predictions about Jerusalem and the stories about it Scripture proclaims about the heavenly city and about the whole country, which contains the cities of the heavenly earth. Perhaps the Savior takes us precisely to these cities when he gives authority over five or ten cities (slaves) who distinguished themselves by the good use of mines. But if the prophecies about Judah and Jerusalem, about Israel, Judah and Jacob, when we understand them not in a carnal sense, represent various mysteries, then, consequently, the prophecies about Egypt and the Egyptians, about Babylon and the Babylonians, about Tire and the Tyrians, about Sidon and the Sidonians and about other nations prophesy not only about these carnal Egyptians, Babylonians, Tyrians and Sidonians, but also about spiritual (peoples). After all, if there are spiritual Israelites, then, consequently, there are also spiritual Egyptians and Babylonians. And, indeed, what Ezekiel says about Pharaoh, the king of Egypt (Ezek. ch. 29–32), does not fully apply to any person who ruled or had to rule Egypt, as will be clear to attentive researchers. In the same way, the prophecy about the prince of Tire (Ezek. ch. 26) cannot be understood about any person who ruled Tire. What is said in many places, and especially in Isaiah (ch. 14) about Nebuchadnezzar, also cannot be understood in relation to this man; because Nebuchadnezzar the man did not fall from heaven, was not a star, and did not rise in the morning above the earth. The prophet Ezekiel also says about Egypt that once upon a time it will be devastated for forty years, so that no trace of humanity can be found there, and it will be subjected to such a war that throughout the whole country there will be blood up to the knees. What smart person would attribute all this to Egypt, which is located next to the Ethiopians, whose bodies are blackened by the sun? 22. So, we are taught by the apostle that there is one Israel according to the flesh, and another according to the Spirit. Therefore, hearing the words of the Savior: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” we understand these words differently than those who philosophize about earthly things, i.e. Ebionites, who by their very name are called poor - after all, Ebion in Hebrew means poor - but we understand that there is a certain kind of souls called Israel, in accordance with the meaning of this name - for Israel means: “the mind that sees God” or: “the man who sees God.” The apostle also reveals a similar thing about Jerusalem, saying that “Jerusalem above is free: she is the mother of us all.” And in another of his epistle he says: “but you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem” and to a multitude of angels singing praises, to “the church of the firstborn who are written in heaven.” Now, if there are some souls in this world called Israel, and in heaven there is a certain city called Jerusalem, then it follows that the heavenly Jerusalem serves as the capital of those cities which are said (in Scripture) to belong to the nation of Israel. Accordingly, we think about all of Judea: in our opinion, the prophets spoke about it in the form of certain mysterious narratives, when they prophesied something either about Judea or about Jerusalem, or predicted various attacks on Judea or Jerusalem, known in sacred history. Thus, if we accept the words of Paul as the words of Christ who spoke in him, then all the stories and predictions about Jerusalem, according to the teaching of Paul, we, of course, must understand in relation to that city, which he calls the heavenly Jerusalem, and to all those countries or cities that are called cities of the holy land and whose capital is Jerusalem. One must think that the Savior had precisely these cities in mind when, wanting to encourage us to higher understanding, he promised power over ten or five cities to those (slaves) who managed well the money that He entrusted to them. But if the prophecies about Judah and Jerusalem, about Judah, Israel and Jacob, when we understand them not in a carnal sense, point to some divine secrets, then, of course, those prophecies that were pronounced about Egypt and the Egyptians, about Babylon and the Babylonians, about Sidon and the Sidonians, should not be understood as prophecies about this Egypt, which is on earth, or about Babylon, Tire and Sidon. And, indeed, what the prophet Ezekiel said about Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, does not apply to any person who reigned in Egypt, as the very text of this place clearly shows. Likewise, what is said about the Prince of Tire cannot be understood as applied to any person as the Prince of Tire. In the same way, is it possible to relate to a person what is said in many places of Scripture, especially in Isaiah about Nebuchadnezzar? Whoever, according to Scripture, fell from heaven, who was the star, who rose in the morning, is not a man. Ezekiel says of Egypt that it will be desolate for forty years, so that not even a trace of man will be found there, and it will be subjected to such a war that throughout the whole earth its human blood will rise to the knees. I don’t know, what smart person can apply this prophecy to this earthly Egypt adjacent to Ethiopia? But we must consider whether it is not better to think this way: just as there is a heavenly Jerusalem and Judea, and also, without a doubt, the people living in them, called Israel, so perhaps there are some (heavenly) countries adjacent to Judea and Jerusalem, which are called Egypt, Babylon, Tire, Sidon, there are also princes of these countries, and the souls living in these countries are called Egyptians, Babylonians, Tyrians and Sidonians. These souls, it seems, in accordance with the relations in which they are there, were taken into captivity and, thus, from Judea, from the best and highest places, descended to Babylon or Egypt, or were scattered among various other nations. 23. And below: Those who die an ordinary death here are distributed based on the deeds committed here, so that those recognized as worthy of the so-called hellish country receive different places according to their sins. Likewise, perhaps those who, so to speak, die there (in heaven) descend into this hell, recognized as worthy to live in various, better or worse, dwellings throughout the earthly space and be born from such or other parents - so that an Israelite may someday become one of the Scythians, and an Egyptian may go to Judea. However, the Savior came to gather the lost sheep of the house of Israel. But since many Israelis did not follow His teaching, the pagans are called in (instead of the Israelis). This, we think, is hidden in historical narratives. “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid, and for the joy of it he goes and sells everything that he has and buys the field” (Matthew 13.44). Let us think, is not the visible side of Scripture - its surface and what is most accessible in it - is it not a whole field filled with various plants, and the hidden (in this field) - that which is not visible to everyone, it is, as it were, buried under the visible plants - does not it mean the treasures of wisdom and the secrets of knowledge? The Spirit, through Isaiah, calls these treasures dark, invisible and hidden (Isaiah 45.3). Only God alone can crush the brass gates that hide them and break the iron bolts placed on the doors - and then everything that is said in Genesis about the different true kinds of souls and, as it were, about the tribes that are either close or far from Israel will become clear, then the removal of seventy souls to Egypt will become clear in order to become numerous there, like the stars of heaven, but since not all of them serve as the light of the world - “for not all of them the Israelites who are of Israel” (Rom. 9.6), then some of the seventy become like the innumerable sand on the seashore. For the sake of this distinction, as I believe, that hell, where the souls of people who die here are taken, is called in Scripture the lowest hell, as it says in the Psalms: “You delivered my soul from the lowest hell” (Ps. 85.13). So, each of those who descend to earth, in accordance with his merits or the place he occupied there, in this world is determined to be born in different countries, among different peoples, in different relationships, with certain weaknesses, and to come either from God-fearing or less pious parents; Moreover, it sometimes happens that an Israeli ends up among the Scythians, and a poor Egyptian is driven (from Egypt) to Judea. However, our Savior came to gather the lost sheep of the house of Israel; but since the majority of the Israelites did not accept His teachings, the pagans were called. From here, obviously, it follows that prophecies addressed to different peoples must relate more to souls and to their various heavenly inhabitants. It is also necessary to examine and consider the narrative of the events that happened to the people of Israel, or to Jerusalem, or to Judea, when they were attacked by one or another people: since very many of these events did not happen physically, the indicated narratives are much more applicable to those spiritual peoples who lived in this, as they say, transitory heaven, and perhaps even now still live there 7. If anyone demands from us obvious and sufficiently clear evidence of this from the Holy Scriptures, then we must answer that the Holy Spirit had the intention of hiding this (the doctrine of the heavenly peoples) in the narratives, as it were, of various (earthly) events, and, moreover, to hide it more deeply; these narratives say that some people go down to Egypt or are taken captive to Babylon and in these very countries are subjected to extreme humiliation and become slaves of masters, while others in the very places of captivity lived in glory and splendor, so that they had power and leadership and governed nations that needed to be governed. All this, as we said, is contained hidden and hidden in the narratives of Holy Scripture, because “the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid, and for the joy of it he goes and sells everything that he has and buys that field.” Consider more diligently whether these words indicate that the very, so to speak, soil and surface of Scripture, i.e. what is read by letter is a field filled and blooming with plants of all kinds, and the highest and deepest spiritual meaning is those hidden treasures of wisdom and knowledge, which the Holy Spirit, through Isaiah, calls secret, invisible and hidden treasures. To find these treasures, the help of God is necessary, since God alone can break down the brass gates with which they are locked and hidden, and break in pieces the iron locks and bolts that block access to everything that is secretly written in Genesis about the different kinds of souls and about those generations and tribes that belong to the kinship of Israel, or are far removed from its tribe. Only with God's help can we discover what the descent of seventy souls into Egypt means. These seventy souls in Egypt multiply like the stars of heaven. But since not all who belonged to them serve as the light of the world - “for not all are Israelites who are from Israel” (Rom. 9.6) - then some of these seventy souls become like countless sand on the seashore. These warriors carry shields of faith and shoot arrows of wisdom; the helmet of hope and salvation shines on them and the armor of light protects (their) chest filled with God. This is what kind of warriors are appointed to be and this is what kind of wars are being prepared for, in my opinion, those whom God commands to be numbered in the sacred books. But those who, according to the word of Scripture, even the hairs of their heads are numbered, are depicted as much more glorious and perfect than these (the warriors of the Old Testament). Those punished for sins - those whose bodies fell in the desert - are similar, it seems, to those who, although they succeeded a lot, were not at all able to reach the end of perfection, for various reasons, because, they say, they complained, or began to worship idols, or fell into adultery, or did something that cannot even be guessed with the mind. In my opinion, it is no stranger to mystery that some (Israelites), having a lot of livestock and many animals, go ahead and, before others, occupy a place rich in pastures and feed for livestock - that place which, before all (other places), the military power of Israel established for itself. Those who asked Moses for this place separate themselves (from the others, settling) on ​​the other side of the Jordan and are removed from possessing the holy land. This Jordan, as an image of heavenly (things), one might think, irrigates and fills the thirsty souls and minds adjacent to it. Further, it seems that the circumstance is not without a mysterious meaning that Moses listens from God (Himself) to what is written in the Levitical law, and the people become listeners of Moses in Deuteronomy and learn from him what they could not hear from God (Himself). For this reason, Deuteronomy is called, as it were, the second law; According to some, this name means that the first passing law, which was given by Moses, apparently prefigures the second legislation, which Moses deliberately provides to Jesus, his successor. Moses, according to our belief, serves as an image of our Savior, Who by His second law, i.e. Gospel commandments, everything leads to perfection. 26. However, in all this it should be sufficient for us to harmonize our thoughts with the rule of piety and think about the words of the Holy Spirit in such a way that the best speech does not shine with weak human eloquence, but, as it is written, “all the glory of the king’s daughter is within” (Ps. 44.14), and the treasure of divine thoughts lies in the mortal vessel of the despised letter. But if anyone, out of curiosity, is looking for an explanation of particulars, then let him come and listen to the Apostle Paul with us. Exploring the depth of divine Wisdom and knowledge with the help of the Holy Spirit, who searches even the depths of God (1 Cor. 2.10), and being unable to achieve the goal and, so to speak, inner knowledge, in despair about this matter and in amazement, he exclaims and says: “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!” (Rom. 11.33). And that he exclaimed this out of despair in perfect knowledge, listen to what he himself says: “How incomprehensible are His destinies, and His ways unsearchable” (Rom. 11.33). He did not say that it is not easy to comprehend the destinies of God, but it is absolutely impossible, and he did not say that it is difficult to explore His ways, but it is impossible to explore. In fact, no matter how much someone advances in research, no matter how much he succeeds with the most sincere zeal, however, even assisted by the grace of God and enlightened by the mind, he will not be able to completely and completely comprehend what is being investigated - and no created mind can in any way know (this): as soon as it finds something of what it is looking for, it again sees something else that still needs to be explored; if he achieves this, then again he will see much more that still needs to be investigated. Therefore, the wisest Solomon, contemplating the nature of things with wisdom, says: “I said: I will be wise, but wisdom is far from me. What happened is far away, deep, deep: who can comprehend it? (Eccl. 7.24–25). Isaiah also knew that mortal nature cannot find the beginning of things, that even beings, although more divine than human nature, but also created, or created, cannot do this; so, knowing that not one of these beings can find either a beginning or an end, he says: “Let them imagine and tell us what will happen, let them announce something before he “Has happened.” Or: “Tell me what will happen in the future, and we will know that you are gods” (Is. 41.22–23). This is what the Jewish teacher taught. Since no one can comprehend the beginning and the end of everything except the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, then, according to (this teacher), Isaiah said in the form of a vision that there are only two seraphim, who with two wings cover the face of God, with two legs and with two they fly, calling to each other and saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts, fill the whole earth with Your glory” (ibid. 6.3). This means that only the seraphim have two wings of their own on the face of God and on His feet; Therefore, we must boldly proclaim that neither armies of holy angels, nor holy thrones, nor dominions, nor principalities, nor powers can accurately know the beginning of everything and the end of the universe. But it must be thought that those saints whom the Spirit has enumerated are at the same time the powers closest to the very beginnings, and comprehend (them) to the extent that other (creatures) cannot comprehend. However, whatever may be what these forces learn, according to the revelation of the Son of God and the Holy Spirit, and although they will achieve very much, and moreover, in such a way that the higher ones will achieve much more than the lower ones, it is impossible for them to know everything, as it is written: “The abundance of the works of God is in the hidden” (Sir. 16.28). Therefore, it is desirable that everyone, forgetting what lies behind, to the best of his ability, strives forward - both to better deeds and to a purer feeling and knowledge through Jesus Christ, our Savior, to whom be glory forever. 27. Therefore, everyone who cares about truth, let him care less about names and words, since each individual people has a different use of words, and let him pay attention more to what is signified than to what words are used to designate it - especially in such great and difficult things as, for example, in the question of whether there is such a substance in which neither color, nor form, nor tangibility, nor size should be thought of - a substance contemplated by one only mind? Everyone calls this substance as he wants; The Greeks called it incorporeal, but the divine Scriptures proclaim it invisible, for, according to Paul, Christ is the image of the invisible God (Col. 1.15). And he also says that through Christ all things were created, visible and invisible (Col. 1.17). This means that among creatures there are some substances that are invisible in their properties. But these substances, although they themselves are incorporeal, nevertheless use bodies, being themselves above corporeal substance. The substance of the Trinity, which is the beginning and cause of everything, from which is all, through which is all, and in which is all, is not a body and is not in the body, as one must believe, but is completely incorporeal. However, we spoke about this, although briefly, but not entirely appropriately, since we were called for this by the consistency of the reasoning itself - and what has been said should be enough to prove that there are such things, the meaning of which cannot be properly expressed at all by any words of human language - such things that are understood more by pure reason than by any properties of words. This rule must also be followed when understanding the Divine Scriptures, i.e. what is said (in Scripture) is to be judged not by the weakness of the word, but by the divinity of the Holy Spirit, by whose inspiration they are written. Chapter 3. Brief repetition of what was said above about the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and other things. 29. But if anyone says that thanks to those who participate in the Word of God, or in the Wisdom of God, or in Truth, or in Life, it seems that the Word and Wisdom itself are in a (certain) place, then he must answer (the following). There is no doubt that Christ, as the Word and Wisdom and everything else, was in Paul, which is why Paul said: “You are looking for proof whether Christ speaks in me” (2 Cor. 13.3), and more; “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2.20). But who will doubt that, being in Paul, He (at the same time) likewise was in Peter, and in John, and in each of the saints, and not only in the saints who are on earth, but also in those who are in heaven? After all, it is absurd to say that Christ, of course, was in Peter and Paul, but was not in the Archangel Michael or Gabriel. From this it can be clearly understood that the Divinity of the Son of God is not contained in any place; otherwise, He would only be in this place and would not be in any other place; but, according to the greatness of incorporeal nature, He is not contained in any place and is not thought of as absent in any place. However, you only need to notice the following difference. Although, as we said, the Son of God is in various beings, for example, in Peter or Paul, in Michael or Gabriel, he is not in all the same: in the archangels He is more fully and clearly, and, so to speak, more openly than in other holy men. This is clear from the fact that, according to the expression of the Gospel saying (Matthew 22.30), the saints, having achieved perfection, will become similar or equal to the angels. From this it is clear that Christ is depicted in everyone as much as the measure of merit allows. 30. Having briefly repeated this teaching about the Trinity, we should briefly recall that through the Son, as it is said (in Scripture), “all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible: whether thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers—all things were created by Him and for Him, and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist, and He is the head” (Col. 1.16–18). In agreement with this, John in the Gospel says that “all things came into being through Him, and without Him nothing began to be” (John 1.3). David, pointing out the mystery of the entire Trinity in the creation of the universe, says: “By the Word of the Lord the heavens were created, and by the Spirit of His mouth all their host” (Ps. 32.6). After this, by the way, let us recall the physical coming and incarnation of the only begotten Son of God. This should not be thought of as if all the greatness of His Divinity was contained within the boundaries of the smallest body, so that all the Word of God and His Wisdom, and substantial Truth, and Life were as if separated from the Father or were embraced and limited within the limits of this small body, and outside these limits no longer acted. A prudent and pious confession must be in the middle between two extremes: on the one hand, it must admit no lack of Godhead in Christ; on the other hand, it should not conceive in Him absolutely any separation from the Father’s omnipresent substance. It was something similar that John the Baptist pointed out when, during the physical absence of Jesus, he told the people: “But there is someone standing among you whom you do not know: He is the one who comes after me, but who has stood in front of me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of His sandals” (John 1.26–27). As for the bodily presence, then, of course, the same could not be said about the absent one, but it was the Son of God who stood among those among whom he was not physically present. 31. But let no one think that we are asserting by this that in Christ there was a certain part of the Divinity of the Son of God, while the rest was elsewhere or everywhere. People who do not know the nature of an incorporeal and invisible entity may think this way. Meanwhile, in relation to an incorporeal being, it is impossible to talk about a part or about any division, but it is in everything, and through everything, and above everything, exactly in the same way as we said above, i.e. as Wisdom, or Word, or Life, or Truth. This understanding, without a doubt, excludes any spatial limitation. So, the Son of God, desiring, for the salvation of the human race, to appear to people and to communicate among people, took on not only a human body, as some think, but also a soul, in nature, of course, similar to our souls, and in disposition and virtue similar to Himself - such a soul that could unswervingly fulfill all the desires and orders of the Word and Wisdom. And that He had a soul, the Savior Himself very clearly indicates this in the Gospels, saying that “no one takes it from Me, but I myself give it; I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again” (John 10.18). And again: “My soul is grieved unto death” (Matthew 26.38), and again, “My soul is now troubled” (John 12.27). By a sad and indignant soul here one cannot understand the Word of God: this Word, by the power of (His) divine power, says, “I have the power to give it away.” However, we say that in this soul the Son of God was not as He was in the soul of Paul, or Peter and other saints, in whom, according to (our) belief, Christ speaks in the same way as in Paul. About all these people you need to think what Scripture says, namely, that no one will be born clean from an unclean person and that his days are determined. (Job 14.4–5). The soul that was in Jesus chose good before it knew evil (Is. 7.16). And since she loved righteousness and hated iniquity, for this reason God anointed her with the oil of joy more than her companions (Ps. 44.8). It was she who was anointed with the oil of joy when she united herself with the Word of God in an immaculate union and, as a result, one of all souls became incapable of sin, since she completely and completely received the Son of God. Therefore, she is one with the Son of God and is called by His names, just as the One through whom, according to the word of Scripture, all things were created, is called Jesus Christ. Since this soul accepted into itself all the Wisdom of God, both Truth and Life, it was about it, in my opinion, that the Apostle also said the following: “Your life is hidden with Christ in God; when Christ, your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory” (Col. 3.3–4). In fact, who else should be understood by this Christ, Who, they say, is hidden in God, and will then appear, if not the One who, according to the word (of the psalm), was anointed with the oil of joy, i.e. will be substantially filled with God, in whom he is now hidden, as the apostle says? Therefore, Christ is set as an example for all believers. Just as He always chose good and chose it, still completely ignorant of evil, and loved righteousness and hated iniquity, as a result of which God anointed Him with the oil of joy, so everyone, after a fall or after error, following the proposed example, must cleanse himself from vices and, adhering to the Guide, must walk the narrow path of virtue. Thus, through imitation of Him, we will become, as far as possible, partakers of the divine nature, as it is written: “Whoever says that he believes in Christ must do as He did” (1 John 2.6). This Word and this Wisdom, through the imitation of Which we are called both wise and reasonable, is made all things to all men, in order to win all; even to the weak the Word is made weak in order to win the weak; and since It becomes weak, for this reason it is said about Him: “For although He was crucified in weakness, He lives by the power of God” (2 Cor. 13.4). Also to the Corinthians, who were weak, Paul declares that he knows nothing except Jesus Christ, and him crucified (1 Cor. 2.2). 32. Some argue that the words of the apostle also apply to this soul (Christ), which only she received the body from Mary: “He, being in the image of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant” (Phil. 2.6-7), they argue on the basis that the Son of God, through the best examples and instructions, undoubtedly restored the image of God in this soul and called it to that fullness, from where He humbled Himself. Just as through participation in the Son of God one is adopted and through participation in Wisdom one becomes wise in God, so through participation in the Holy Spirit one is made holy and spiritual. Moreover, taking part in the Holy Spirit is the same as (taking part in) the Father and the Son, because the nature of the Trinity is one and incorporeal. What we said about the participation of the soul, the same thing in the same sense as about souls, one must think about the angels and the heavenly powers, since every rational creature needs participation in the Trinity. In our work, as far as possible, we also spoke about what the essence of this visible world is, because this is usually the subject of much debate; we spoke for the sake of those who in our faith are usually still looking for reasons for belief, and for the sake of those who arouse heretical disputes against us and constantly talk idle talk to the wind about matter, although they themselves have not yet been able to even understand what matter is. I consider it necessary to briefly recall this now. 33. And, firstly, we should know that we have not yet found the names of matter, in the sense of the substance underlying bodies, in the canonical Scriptures. In the words of Isaiah: “as fire consumes stubble and flame consumes hay, u~lhn” - that is, matter (Is. 5.24) - speaks of people subject to punishment, and the word “matter” is used instead of “sins.” And in other places where the word “matter” may be found, it never, I think, identifies what we are talking about now, unless in The Wisdom, called Solomon, which book, however, is not respected by everyone. There we find the following words: “It is not possible for Thy all-powerful hand, even if He created the world from ugly matter, to send upon them a multitude of bears or fierce lions” (Wis. 11:18). Many people think that this very matter of things is indicated in what Moses wrote at the beginning of Genesis: “In the beginning. God created heaven and earth, but the earth was invisible and unstructured” (Gen. 1.1). In their opinion, Moses calls the invisible and unstructured earth nothing more than formless matter. If matter really is like this, then it is clear from here that the beginnings of bodies are not immutable. Those who recognize atoms as the principles of bodily things, i.e. or that which cannot be divided into parts, or that which is divided into equal parts, or any one element, cannot be counted among the principles by the name of matter, i.e. that which, in the proper sense, means matter. But when at the basis of every body they (still) consider matter, a substance that is transformable, changeable and divisible, then, of course, they will not consider it to be without quality, in terms of its properties. In this we agree with them. We completely reject the ungeneracy or uncreatedness of matter, as we have proved above, as far as we could; there we showed that from water, earth, air and heat different fruits arise, depending on the different species of trees, and we stated that fire, air, water and earth mutually change into each other, and one element resolves into another according to some mutual affinity, and also proved that the substance of the body in both people and animals consists of food, and that the moisture of natural seed turns into a solid body and bones. All this testifies that bodily substance is changeable and passes from any state to any other. 34. However, you need to know that substance never exists without quality: reason alone sees that matter is what underlies bodies and can take on (this or that) quality. But some, desiring to explore this question more deeply, have ventured to say that bodily nature is nothing other than qualities. After all, if (they say) hardness and softness, warmth and cold, moisture and dryness are qualities, and after taking away certain qualities of this kind, of course, no other basis remains, then, obviously, qualities constitute everything. From here, those who claim this tried to prove the following: since everyone who calls matter uncreated recognizes its qualities as created by God, then, therefore, in their opinion, matter cannot be considered uncreated, because qualities make up everything, and qualities are unquestioningly recognized as created by God. Those who want to prove that qualities are imparted from the outside to matter, as a certain basis, use such examples. Paul, without a doubt, is either silent, or speaking, or awake, or asleep, and is in some specific bodily position, i.e. either sitting, or standing, or lying. These are random properties in people, without which they are almost never found. However, our minds obviously do not identify Paul by any of these characteristics, but we think and judge him in such a way that we do not take into account at all his (various) states, i.e. whether he is awake or asleep, speaks or is silent, and other random states usually experienced by people. Thus, if someone thinks of Paul without all these random attributes, then he can also think of the subject (substance) without qualities. So, when our mind, having abandoned the thought of every quality, contemplates the very, so to speak, point of substance alone and holds on to it, not paying any attention to the softness or hardness, warmth or cold, wetness or dryness of the substance, then, through such an artificial method of thinking, it seems to contemplate matter free from all these qualities. 35. But perhaps someone will ask if we can find any basis for this thought in Scripture? It seems to me that something similar is indicated in the psalms, when the prophet says: “My eyes have seen your undone work” (Ps. 139.16). Apparently, the spirit of the prophet, in clairvoyant contemplation, examined the beginnings of things and, with a pure mind and thought, separating matter from qualities, saw the undone of God, which, of course, was “made” through the addition of qualities. Enoch also says in his book: “I have reached even the imperfect.” I think it can be understood in a similar way, i.e. the prophet's mind, exploring and discussing various visible things, reached the beginning where it saw imperfect matter without qualities. Moreover, in the same book the following words of Enoch are recorded: “I have known all matters.” This (expression) has, of course, the meaning that he considered the divisions of matter, all the different types into which a single matter is divided, i.e. types of people, animals, sky, sun - in a word, everything that is in this world. After this, we, as far as possible, proved in our work that everything that exists was created by God and there is nothing uncreated except the nature of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit; We also proved that God, good by nature, desired to have those to whom he would do good deeds and who would rejoice in receiving His benefits, and that it was precisely as a result of this desire that He created worthy creatures, i.e. those who could worthily contain Him; God even says that He begat them as sons. He created everything by number and measure, for with God there is nothing without boundaries or without measure. By His power He contains everything, but He Himself cannot be embraced by the mind of any creature, since His nature is known only to itself. The Father alone knows the Son, and the Son alone knows the Father, and the Holy Spirit alone searches the depths of God. “Let no one be tempted by the word, if we give measure to God’s power. For it is impossible to embrace the limitless by its very nature. But if what God Himself contains has limits, then there must necessarily be a limit to how much of what is limited He has enough strength. If the Father embraces everything, and the Son is also included in everything, then it is clear that He also embraces the Son. But someone will ask, is it true that God knows Himself in the same way as He is known by the Only Begotten? And then it will be revealed that the saying: The Father who sent Me is greater than Me is true in all respects, so that even in knowledge the Father knows Himself more, more clearly and more perfectly than the Son knows Him.” (From Justinian’s letter to Mina) “If the Son knows the Father, it seems to be because He knows Him. He can comprehend Him - in the sense in which we say that the spirit of the artist knows the measure of art. And there is no doubt that if the Father is in the Son, then He is comprehended by Him in Whom He is. If we call comprehension that which He who knows not only comprehends in thought and wisdom, but also contains in strength and power everything (that He knows): then we cannot say that the Son comprehends the Father. The Father comprehends everything; but among all things the Son is also present, therefore He comprehends the Son also. Let the inquisitive reader investigate whether the Father knows Himself in the same way as He is known by the Son; and, knowing that what is written: The Father who sent Me is greater than Me (John 14.28) is true in all respects, he will agree and say that in knowledge the Father is greater than the Son, since He knows Himself more perfectly and purer than the Son knows Him” (From Jerome’s letter to Avitus). So, every creature is distributed by Him within the boundaries of a certain number and measure, whether this be the number of rational beings or the measure of corporeal matter. Intelligent nature needed to use bodies. After all, this nature, as we know, is changeable and perverse due to its very creation (for what did not exist, and (later) began to exist, is therefore distinguished by its changeable nature); therefore it has both virtue and malice, not substantial, but accidental. So, rational nature, as we said, was changeable and perverse; therefore, she had to use different clothing of the body of one quality or another, in accordance with her merits. But since God knew in advance the future differences of both souls and spiritual forces, He necessarily had to create bodily nature so that, by the will of the Creator, it could change through a change in qualities into any states that circumstances would require. This corporeal nature must necessarily exist as long as there are those creatures that need bodily clothing. But intelligent beings in need of bodily clothing will always exist. Consequently, there will always be a corporeal nature, the clothing of which rational creatures must necessarily use. However, someone may think that it is possible to prove by some propositions that rational nature can lead life without any body. But above, discussing each subject separately, we showed how difficult and even almost impossible it is for our minds (to prove this). “It must be admitted that the corporeal nature did not exist at first, but it exists from time to time (at certain intervals), due to the falls that happen to rational beings who need bodies. After purification is completed, the bodily nature must again resolve into nothingness. And it should always be this way.” (From Justinian’s letter to Mina) “If someone could prove that the incorporeal and rational nature, having thrown off the body, lives on its own and that, putting on bodies, it is in a worse position, but putting them aside - in a better position: then there would be no doubt that bodies do not exist from the beginning, but are formed at certain intervals of time and due to the various movements of rational creatures, so that those who need them may be clothed with them, and again are resolved into nothingness when (these beings) from corruption and downfalls are directed towards the better - and thus change in constant transformation” (From a letter from Jerome to Avitus). 36. I think it will not be in conflict with this work of ours if we, as briefly as possible, also repeat about the immortality of intelligent beings. Anyone who participates in anything, without a doubt, has one substance and one nature with someone who participates in the same three things. For example, all eyes participate in light; and therefore all eyes participating in the light are of the same nature. But although every eye participates in the light, not every eye equally participates in the light, because one sees sharper, the other duller. And again, every ear perceives a voice or sound, and therefore every ear is of the same nature. But, according to the quality of pure and healthy hearing, everyone hears sometimes faster, sometimes slower. Let us now move from these sensory examples to mental contemplation. Every mind that participates in the intellectual light must, without a doubt, be of the same nature with every other mind that likewise participates in the intellectual light. This means that if the heavenly powers, through participation in wisdom and sanctification, take part in intellectual light, i.e. in the divine nature, and in the same light and wisdom human souls also took part, then these souls and heavenly powers are of one nature and one essence. But the heavenly powers are incorruptible and immortal; This means that the substance of the human soul is undoubtedly immortal and incorruptible. But this is not enough. Since the very nature of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, from which alone every creature receives participation in intellectual light, is incorruptible and eternal, it necessarily follows that every (other) substance participating in this eternal nature always remains incorruptible and eternal, so that the eternity of divine goodness is recognized in it, precisely in the fact that (the creatures) receiving its benefits are also eternal. But just as in the (above) examples the difference in the perception of light is maintained - since the vision of the beholder, it is said there, is sometimes duller, sometimes sharper - in the same way it is necessary to recognize the participation in the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit as different, according to the intensity of the feeling or the receptivity of the mind. If this is not so, then let us see whether it would not be wicked (to think) that the mind, capable of perceiving God, can undergo substantial destruction, as if it were not enough for eternity that it can know and feel God. Moreover, although the mind, falling away due to negligence, no longer accepts God purely and holistically, it always has within itself, as it were, some seeds for the restoration and renewal of a better concept (of God), since the inner man, also called rational, is renewed in the image and likeness of God who created him. That is why the prophet says: “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the tribes of the heathen will worship before You” (Ps. 21:27). 37. If anyone dares to attribute substantial corruption to one who is created in the image and likeness of God, then, as I think, he extends his wickedness even to the Son of God Himself, because He is also called in the Scriptures the image of God. Or, whoever asserts this must obviously reject the authority of Scripture, which says that man was created in the image of God. But in man the signs of the image of God are clearly recognized - not in the features of the corruptible body, but in prudence of spirit, in justice, moderation, in courage, wisdom, teaching and in the whole sum of virtues that are inherent in God substantially, and in man can exist through work and imitation of God, as the Lord indicates in the Gospel, saying: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6.36), and: “Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5.48). From this it is clearly seen that in God all these virtues are always present and can never increase or decrease, but by people they are acquired little by little, and each one separately. Further, people have some affinity with God, it seems, in the following. God knows everything, and none of the intelligible things is hidden from Him, for only God the Father, and His Only Begotten Son, and the Holy Spirit knows not only those whom He created, but also Himself. And the rational spirit can achieve the most perfect knowledge, ascending from the small to the greater and from the visible to the invisible, for it is in the body and therefore ascends from the sensible or corporeal to the intelligible. But so that the expression that the intelligible is supersensible does not seem obscene to anyone, we will cite as an example the saying of Solomon, who says: “You will find a divine feeling” (Wis. 2.5). In these words he shows that what is intelligible must be examined not by the bodily sense, but by some other sense, which he calls divine. It is with this feeling that we must contemplate all those rational beings that we spoke about above; with this feeling we must listen to what we say and consider what we write. For the divine nature knows even what we silently think to ourselves. About the same thing that we said, or about other things; what follows from this must be thought in accordance with the model that we outlined above. Chapter 1. About free will. Resolution and explanation of the sayings of Scripture which seem to reject it 1. Church sermons contain the doctrine of God's righteous judgment; This teaching calls on listeners, convinced of its truth, to a good life and every possible avoidance of sin, of course, presuming on their part the conviction that what is worthy of praise and blame is in their power. Therefore, we must especially set forth a brief doctrine also about free will, since this is a matter of utmost necessity. But to know what free will is, we need to uncover the concept of it; then, after a precise understanding of this concept, the subject of research will be determined. 2. Of moving objects, some have the cause of motion within themselves, while others receive motion only from the outside. Only from the outside do inanimate objects, such as logs, stones, and all matter that has only the connection of its parts, receive movement. (Now we must leave aside the reasoning about the opinion according to which the flow of bodies is motion, because this reasoning is not relevant). Animals and plants, and in general everything that has nature and soul, have within themselves the cause of movement; This, they say, also includes metals. In addition, fire is self-moving, and perhaps so are the sources. Of the objects that have the cause of motion in themselves, some are said to move from themselves, others from themselves. Inanimate objects move from themselves, and animate objects move from themselves. Animate objects move away from themselves because they have imagination, which gives rise to desire. And again, some animals have ideas that cause desire, and the faculty of imagination directs the desire in a strictly defined way. Thus, the spider has the idea of ​​weaving (webs), and this idea is accompanied (in him) by the desire to weave (webs), because the ability of imagination necessarily prompts him to do so. But apart from the ability of imagination, an animal probably has nothing else, even a bee in the construction of a wax honeycomb. 3. But a rational animal, in addition to the ability to imagine, also has a mind that discusses ideas and rejects some (of these ideas), while accepting others, so that the animal acts in accordance with them. In the nature of the mind there is the ability to contemplate the good and the shameful, that ability, following which, we perceive the good and the bad and choose the good and avoid the evil; therefore, when we devote ourselves to doing good, we are worthy of praise, otherwise we are worthy of blame. It is impossible not to notice that a higher nature, ordered in all respects, is, perhaps, found in animals, sometimes to a greater or lesser extent, so that the actions of hunting dogs and war horses come close, so to speak, to rational actions. Thus, to receive any influence from the outside that evokes this or that idea in us is, admittedly, not subject to our power. But the decision to take advantage of what happened in one way or another is no longer the work of anyone other than our inherent reason, which, under external influences, either encourages us to (follow) aspirations calling us to the beautiful and proper, or deviates us to the opposite. 4. If someone says that the influence from the outside is such that, once it has taken place, it is no longer possible to resist it, then let him pay attention to his own feelings and movements: isn’t there approval, and consent, and a decision of the ruling (part of the soul) on some action for some convincing (internal) reasons? For example, if a person has decided to be abstinent and refrain from intercourse, then a woman who appears to him and offers to do something contrary to this decision does not become a self-sufficient reason for him to violate this decision. Of course, if a person has completely given himself over to the titillation and charm of pleasure and does not want to resist it, does not want to fulfill his decision, then he commits debauchery. On the contrary, the same tickling and excitement happens to another person; but under the same circumstances, he received more teaching and (more) worked on himself, and the mind, highly strengthened and educated by teaching and confirmed by dogmas in virtue, or already close to such a state of affirmation, restrains excitement and weakens desire. 5. But if this happens to us, then it is wrong and unwise to explain everything by external causes and free ourselves from guilt, considering ourselves like firewood and stones, which are moved from the outside by people dragging them; This understanding is typical of someone who wants to distort the concept of freedom. And, indeed, if we ask him what free will is, he will say: (I am free in that case) if any of my decisions is not opposed from the outside by anything that encourages the opposite. In the same way, it is absurd to blame a weak physique. After all, the educational word captivates even the most intemperate and rude people, if only they follow the impulse (of this word), and changes them so that (in them) a huge revolution and change for the better occurs; at the same time, often the most intemperate become better than people who previously, apparently, were not even that way (i.e., intemperate), and the most rude ones become so meek that people who were never so rude, however, seem rude in comparison with this person who has changed into meek. Others, as we see, very constant and very pious, as a result of turning to bad associations, abandon piety and constancy, so that they turn to unbridledness, often beginning an intemperate life in middle age and falling into disorder after the passage of youth, fickle by (its very) nature. So, reason shows that external circumstances are not in our power, but it is our business to take advantage of them one way or another, taking reason as a judge and researcher on how to respond to various external influences. 6. Leading a good life is our business, and God demands this from us - not as if it depends on Him or comes from someone else or, as some think, from fate, but (demands) precisely as our business. The prophet Micah will testify to this (to us) with the words: “O man? It has been told to you what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: to act justly, to love mercy” (Mic. 6.8). And Moses testifies: “Behold, today I have set before you life and good, death and evil, so that you may choose good and walk in it.” (Deut. 30.15) And Isaiah says: “If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the earth. But if you deny and persist, the sword will devour you: for the mouth of the Lord speaks” (Isaiah 1.19-20). And the Psalms say: “Oh that my people would listen to me, and Israel would walk in my ways! I would quickly humble their enemies, and turn My hand against their oppressors” (Ps. 80.14-15). From these words it is clear that it was in the power of the people to listen and walk in the ways of God. And the Savior says: “But I tell you, do not resist evil” (Matt. 5.39), and: “everyone who is angry with his brother without cause is subject to judgment” (Matt. 5.22), and also: “everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matt. 5.28). By giving these and various other commandments, the Savior expresses himself as if it were in our power to fulfill these instructions, and we will justly be subject to judgment if we violate them. Therefore He says: “Everyone who hears My words and does them will be likened to a wise man who built his house on the rock; and everyone who listens to these words and does not fulfill them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand" ; etc. (Matthew 7.24.26). Saying to those standing on the right side: “Come, you blessed of My Father,” etc., “for I was hungry, and you gave Me food; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink” (Matthew 25.34–35), He very clearly makes promises (to them) as those who deserve praise. On the contrary, to others, as worthy of reproach due to their own fault, He says: “Depart from Me, you cursed, into eternal fire” (Matthew 25.41). Let us also see how Paul speaks to us, as (people) free and guilty of their own destruction or salvation. “Or,” he says, do you despise the riches of God’s goodness, meekness and long-suffering, not realizing that God’s goodness leads you to repentance? But, due to your stubbornness and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath and revelation of righteous judgment from God, who will reward everyone according to his deeds: to those who, by constancy in good deeds, seek glory, honor and immortality - eternal life; and to those who persist and do not submit to the truth, but indulge in unrighteousness - rage and anger. Grief and distress for every soul of a person who does evil, first for the Jew, then for the Greek” (Rom. 2.4–10). In general, there are many places in Holy Scripture where free will is stated very clearly. 7. But some sayings of the Old and New Testaments tend to the opposite, i.e. (to the thought) that it is not in our power to keep the commandments and be saved, or to break them and perish. Therefore, we will partially cite some of these sayings and consider their solution, so that someone, having collected for himself all the passages that apparently reject free will, can find an explanation of them based on the model of those sayings that we propose. Thus, many are confused by what was said about Pharaoh, about whom God says many times: “I will harden the heart of Pharaoh” (Ex. 4.21, etc.), because if (Pharaoh) is hardened by God and sins precisely as a result of this hardening, then he himself is no longer guilty of his sin; if this is so, then Pharaoh is not free. And someone will say that in the same way those who perish are not free and do not perish by themselves. St. Ezekiel says: “And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh,” so that they may walk in My commandments and keep My statutes” (Ezek. 11.19–20). These words can inspire someone with the idea that God gives to walk in the commandments and keep judgments precisely by taking away the stony heart that prevents this, and putting in a better, fleshy heart. Let us also see from the Gospel what the Savior answers to those who asked (Him) why He spoke to the crowd in parables. He says: “they look with their own eyes and do not see; They hear with their own ears and do not understand, lest they convert, and their sins be forgiven” (Mark 4.12). Also from Paul (we read): “pardon does not depend on the one who wishes, nor on the one who runs, but on God who has mercy” (Rom. 9.16). And in other places: “For God is at work in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. So, he has mercy on whomever he wants; and he hardens whomever he wants. You tell me: what else are you accusing me of? For who can resist His will? (Phil. 2.13. Rom. 9.18–19). Also: “faith is from the one who calls, not from us. And who are you, man, that you argue with God? Will the product say to the one who made it: why did you make me like this? Does not the potter have power over the clay, so that from the same mixture he can make one vessel for honorable use, and another for low?” (Rom. 9.20–21). These words themselves can confuse many, as if a person is not free, but God saves and destroys whomever he wants. 8. So, let's start with the words about Pharaoh, whom God hardened so that he would not let the people go; At the same time, we will consider the apostolic saying: “He has mercy on whomever he wants; but he hardens whomever he wants” (Rom. 9.18). These words are used by some of the heterodox, who almost deny freedom and recognize some beings as perishing by nature, incapable of salvation, and others as being saved by nature, unable to perish. Pharaoh, they say, was of a perishing nature and therefore was hardened by God, who has mercy on the spiritual and hardens the earthly. So let's consider what they say. Let's ask them whether Pharaoh was of earthly nature? When they answer (in the affirmative), we will say that man of earthly nature is not at all submissive to God; but if he is not submissive, then what is the need to harden his heart, and this - not once, but many times? Obviously, it was possible to convince him, and he, amazed by signs and wonders, could completely soften, because he was not earthly; but since he (himself) was too stubborn, God uses him to show His greatness for the salvation of many, and for this reason he hardens his heart. This is said against them, primarily to refute their opinion that Pharaoh was of a perishing nature. The same must be said to them regarding the words of the apostle. Whom does God harden? Either they are perishing, in which case they could have softened if they had not been hardened, or they are being saved, obviously because they are not of a perishing nature. Whom does He have mercy on? Of course, those being saved. But why do they need a second pardon, if they were once prepared for salvation and by their very nature destined for bliss? It is clear that without mercy they accept destruction and that is why they have mercy, so that they do not suffer the destruction of which they are capable, but be in the land of those who are saved. This is what has been said (by us) against these (heretics). 9 . We must also ask people who think that they understand the expression “hardened”, what does it mean, according to them, that God hardens the heart and for what purpose does God do this? At the same time, let them retain the concept of God, truly righteous and good, or, if they do not want, let us agree this time with them, (only) righteous. And let them show how the good and the righteous, or only the righteous, turns out to be just when he hardens the heart of a person who perishes precisely as a result of this hardening, and how the righteous becomes the author of the destruction and disobedience of those whom He Himself punishes for their bitterness and disobedience to Himself? Why else does He reproach Pharaoh, saying: “You do not want to let My people go, behold, I will strike all the firstborn in Egypt and your firstborn” (Ex. 9.17, 12.12, 11.5), and other things that, according to Scripture, God spoke to Pharaoh through Moses? For whoever believes that the Scriptures are true and that God is just, if he believes rationally, must necessarily show how in such sayings one can find a clear idea of ​​the justice of God. If someone openly and decisively considers the Creator to be evil, then one must reason with him differently. 10. But since, according to them, they consider God to be just, and we, together, to be good and just, let us see how the good and righteous could harden the heart of Pharaoh? So, look, can we not show by one example, which the Apostle Paul used in his letter to the Hebrews, how God, by the same action, has mercy on one and hardens another, and God does not set out to harden, but hardens the hardened, as they say, with His very good intention, which is followed (however) by hardening due to the inherent evil of the people themselves? “The earth,” he says, “drinks the rain that falls on it many times and produces grain useful to those for whom it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But the one that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is close to a curse, the end of which is burning” (Heb. 6.7–8). This means that the effect of rain is one; but with one action of rain, cultivated land bears fruit, and neglected and uncultivated land produces thorns. Perhaps it would seem harsh if the Giver of rain said: “I have brought forth both fruits and thorns on the earth.” But although this is harsh, it is nevertheless true: because if there had been no rain, neither fruits nor thorns would have been born, but with a well-timed and moderate fall of rain, both of them were born. So, a land that often drinks the rain that falls on it and yet produces thorns and thistles is an unprofitable land and is close to a curse. After all, the blessing of rain fell on the worst land; but the uncultivated and uncultivated soil produced thorns and thistles. Likewise, the miracles performed by God are like rain; the different locations are like cultivated and uncultivated land, which, like land, all has the same nature. 11. In the same way, if the sun, raising its voice, said: “I melt and dry,” then although melting and drying are opposites, the sun would not tell a lie in this case, because from the same heat wax melts and dirt dries. In the same way, the same action that was performed (by God) through Moses, in Pharaoh revealed bitterness due to his anger, and in the Egyptians, who joined the Jews and went out with them, (discovered) submission. However, a little lower it is written that Pharaoh’s heart seemed to soften, and he said: “don’t go far, go for three days and leave your wives,” and so on, which he said soon, yielding to miracles. This shows that the signs had some effect on him, but did not completely conquer him. But this, of course, would not have happened if the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart had been carried out by God himself, as many people think. It is not superfluous to confirm this with (examples) from everyday life. Often good masters say to slaves who have become corrupted as a result of their kindness and patience: “I made you bad, I am to blame for such your crimes.” In general, you need to pay attention to the nature and meaning of the words and not slander without delving into the meaning of the speech. Paul, who has deeply explored this issue, says (addressing) the sinner: “Or do you despise the riches of the kindness, meekness and long-suffering of God, not realizing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath and revelation of righteous judgment from God” (Rom. 2.4-5). But what the apostle says to a sinner, this can be said to Pharaoh, and then what was announced to him becomes completely understandable, because he accumulated anger for himself by the cruelty and unrepentance of his heart, and, however, his stubbornness would not have been so exposed and would not have become so obvious if the signs had not happened, or even if they had happened, but not so numerous and great. 12. But since these reasonings are difficult to believe and seem far-fetched, let us turn to the prophetic word and see what people say. who experienced the great goodness of God and did not live well, but then sinned? “Why, Lord, did you allow it? shall we turn aside from Thy ways, harden our hearts, so as not to fear Thee? Turn for the sake of Your servants, for the sake of the tribes of Your inheritance. For a short time the people of Your holiness possessed it” (Is. 63.17–18). And Jeremiah says: “You drew me, O Lord, and I was drawn. You are stronger than me and have overcome” (Jer. 20.7). The words that “I allowed our hearts to harden so as not to fear You,” spoken by people who asked for mercy, understood in the usual sense, mean the following: why did You allow us so much, not visiting us in (our) sins, but leaving us until our sins reached a multitude? God leaves very many without punishment so that the character of each would be subjected to a free test, and the best people would become known through this test, and others, without hiding, not from God, of course, because He knows everything before it is done, but from rational beings and from themselves, would subsequently embark on the path of pleasing God. Without condemning themselves, they could not have known virtue; this (self-condemnation) is useful for everyone to understand their condition and the grace of God. After all, whoever does not feel his own powerlessness and divine grace, although he receives blessings, but, without testing himself and without condemning himself, will consider what was given to him by heavenly grace for his own work, and this, giving rise to a high opinion of himself and pride in a person, will cause a fall, which is exactly what happened, in our opinion, with the devil: he attributed to himself the advantages that he had while still pure: “Everyone who exalts himself is humiliated will be, but he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18.14). Note also that the divine (mysteries) are hidden from the wise and prudent, so that, as the apostle says, “so that no flesh should boast before God” (1 Cor. 1.29), but they are revealed to infants who, after infancy, have achieved the best and remember that they have achieved the highest degree of bliss not so much by themselves, but thanks to the ineffable grace (of God). 13. Thus, the one who is abandoned is abandoned according to the judgment of God, and God is long-suffering to some of the sinners, not without reason: after all, the soul is destined for immortality and for an endless age, and it is useful for them (sinners) not to quickly receive help in the matter of salvation, but to be brought to it slowly, after being tempted by many disasters. It is known that doctors can cure someone very quickly; but, suspecting the presence of poison in the body, they act in the opposite way to cure, doing this out of a desire for the surest cure. They think that it is better for the patient to stay longer in the heat and weakness, but to receive the surest recovery, than to recover, apparently very quickly, and then get sick again, so that the quick healing is only temporary (for a while). Perhaps God acts in the same way: knowing the secrets of the heart and foreseeing the future, He allows in His long-suffering and, through external events, brings out hidden evil in order to thus cleanse a person who has collected (in himself) the seeds of sin through negligence; at the same time, even if a person was in the greatest sins, but, having cast out these sins that came to the surface, he can subsequently learn again, having received cleansing after sin. God governs souls, meaning that they are not destined for some fifty years of this life, but for an endless age, for He created the rational (soul) incorruptible by nature and akin to Himself, and (after death) the rational soul is not deprived of healing, as in this life. 14. Let's take another comparison from the Gospel. Here is a rock with a small surface layer of earth. If seeds fall on it, they will soon sprout; but, having sprung up, they die from the heat and dry up when the sun appears, since they have no root (Matthew 13.15). This rock is the human soul, hardened as a result of negligence and petrified under the influence of vice, because God did not create a heart of stone for anyone, but the heart becomes so from a vicious direction. So, if someone, seeing that seeds sown somewhere on rocky ground had already sprouted, began to reproach the farmer for not sowing seeds into the rocky ground as soon as possible, then the farmer would answer: “I will sow this land later, throwing a layer of soil on it that could hold the seeds, because a later harvest on such land will be better and more certain than (harvest) on the ground with earlier and shallow (shallow) sowing.” And one must agree with the farmer, since he speaks reasonably and acts based on experience. So the great Farmer of all nature delays a benefit that could be provided sooner, so that it is not superficial. But perhaps someone will object to this: why do some seeds fall into the soul, which has earth only on the surface and is like a stone? To this we need to say the following. If any soul desired (to achieve) the best as soon as possible, but did not follow the path that leads to it, then it is better for such a soul to receive what it desired: then, having condemned itself, it will patiently, in accordance with nature, begin to cultivate the land, so that later, after a long time, it will receive (the harvest). We can say that we have an infinite number of souls, and these souls have an infinite number of characters, a multitude of movements, dispositions, intentions, aspirations, and the only best manager of them is God and the Father of all, who knows the times and suitable auxiliary means, directions and paths; He also knows how to educate Pharaoh through such great miracles and drowning, which (however) does not end the industry about Pharaoh: after all, having drowned, Pharaoh was not destroyed, “for we, and our words, and every mind, and deeds of art are in the hand of God” (Wis. 7.16). About the hardness of Pharaoh’s heart and about the words: “He has mercy on whomever he wants; but he hardens whomever he wants” (Rom. 9.18) - that is enough (what is said). 15. Let us consider also the words from (the book of) Ezekiel, who says: “And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My commandments and keep My statutes” (Ezek. 11.19). If God, when He wants, plucks out hearts of stone and puts in hearts of flesh, so that His commandments are kept and His commandments are kept, then leaving vice is not in our power, for taking away hearts of stone means nothing more than that God takes away from whomever He wants that vice by which someone is hardened; in the same way, the investment of a carnal heart so that a person walks in the commandments of God and keeps the commandments of God means nothing more than that a person becomes compliant, does not resist the truth and implements virtues. If God (Himself) promises to do this and before he takes away the stony hearts, we are not freed from them, then it is clear that stopping the vice is not in our power. And if we, on our part, do nothing to ensure that we have a heart of flesh, but this is God’s work, then a virtuous life will not be our work, but entirely a divine gift. This is what he will say who denies the free will that belongs to us on the basis of the bare sayings of Scripture. But we will answer that these words should be understood this way. If a person who is ignorant and uneducated is aware of his shortcomings, either as a result of prompting from a teacher, or for some other reason, then he of his own free will gives himself to the one whom he considers capable of guiding him in learning and virtue. When such a person gives himself (to the educator), then the educator promises to destroy (in him) ignorance and invest (into) knowledge, but not in such a way that the one who entrusted himself to the care (of the teacher) on his part does nothing for his education and to get rid of ignorance: the teacher promises to correct the one who (himself) wants (to correct himself). Likewise, the divine word promises to destroy the depravity of those who come (to him), which (the prophet) called the heart of stone, but not beyond their desire, but under the condition that they present themselves to the doctor of the afflicted. The Gospels tell of sick people who came to the Savior, asked for healing and were healed. And, for example, the sight of the blind, since the blind asked for healing, is the work of those who believed in the possibility of healing; since it is the restoration of sight, it is the work of our Savior. So, this is the sense in which the word of God promises to impart knowledge to those who come to him, having taken away (from them) the stony and cruel heart, i.e. depravity, so that a person would walk in the divine commandments and keep God’s commandments. 16. Then followed a saying from the Gospel, where the Savior said that to those outside he speaks in parables for those who “look with their own eyes and do not see; They hear with their own ears and do not understand, lest they convert, and their sins be forgiven” (Mark 4.12). The opponent will say: “If some people are converted and become worthy of remission of sins precisely because they have heard the clearest (words), hearing the clearest words lies not in their power, but in the power of the teacher, and if he does not preach more clearly to other people for this purpose, so that they do not see and understand, then salvation does not depend on the people themselves. If this is so, then we have no control over our salvation and destruction.” If the words had not been added: “Let them not turn, and their sins be forgiven,” then the following defense would be convincing against this objection: The Savior did not want people who were not beautiful and good to know secrets and therefore spoke to them in parables. But now, with the following words: “let them not turn, and their sins be forgiven,” the defense is more difficult. So, first of all, we need to note this place (as useful in the fight) against the heterodox. They collect passages from the Old Testament where, as they dare to say, the cruelty of the Creator is expressed, His vindictive and strictly just disposition towards sinners, or whatever else they want to call it, just to say that there is no goodness in the Creator. With the New (Testament) they do not act in the same way and are not impartial; they omit passages in it similar to those which they consider worthy of reproach in the Old Testament. Meanwhile, the above words of the Gospel, as they themselves say, clearly show that the Savior did not preach clearly so that people would not convert and, having converted, would not become worthy of the forgiveness of sins, and this in its way is no worse than similar sayings of the Old Testament, condemned (by them). If they try to defend the Gospels, then the following must be said to them: is it not reprehensible for them to act, not treating the same issues equally, namely, when they are not tempted by the New Testament, but try to defend it, while in the Old Testament they condemn similar passages, when they should be defended on an equal basis with the sayings of the New Testament? Through such comparisons we will lead them to the idea that all Scriptures belong to one God. Now, if possible, let us turn to the proposed defense. 17. Discussing about Pharaoh, we said that a quicker cure is sometimes not cured for good precisely when, having been exposed to misfortune, they are immediately freed from what they were subjected to: thinking that evil is easily curable, they do not protect themselves from falling into it and, as a result, can be exposed to it again. Therefore, the eternal God, their Lord, who knows mysteries, who knows everything before it is done, in His goodness delays the speedy help of such people and, so to speak, while helping does not help them, since it is useful for them. So, perhaps, the Savior saw that the outsiders, about whom we are now speaking, would not be firm in conversion if they heard a clearer sermon, and therefore arranged it so that they would not hear a clearer teaching about the deepest mysteries; otherwise, having quickly been converted and healed by receiving forgiveness, they would have recognized the wounds of sin as light and easily healed and would soon have been subjected to them again. Or maybe they (then) had not yet served the time of punishment for the previous sins that they committed against virtue, abandoning it (virtue), and divine care left them, so that they, fed up with their own evil, sown by them, would subsequently be called to more lasting repentance and would no longer quickly fall (into those sins) to which they were subject before, disgracing their noble dignity and indulging in vices. Those who are called external, of course, in comparison with the internal, are not very far from these latter: it is true that the internal hear a clear teaching, while the external hear an unclear teaching, because it is presented to them in parables, but they still hear. Some of the outsiders, called the Tyrians, being probably much lower in dignity than the outsiders, do not even hear what the outsiders hear, although the Savior knew that in ancient times they would have repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes, if He had been near their borders: they will hear more opportunely and repent more fruitfully at another time, when the word will be more acceptable to them than to those who did not accept the word and among whom the Savior mentioned the Tyrians. And look: when we try in every possible way to prove that even such (sayings as the one just discussed) contain the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe diverse providence of God, caring for the immortal soul, then don’t we take every care to maintain reverence for God and His Christ and, moreover, don’t we discover more ability for research? But perhaps someone will ask about those who are blamed: they, seeing miracles and hearing divine words, do not receive any benefit, while the Tyrians would have repented if something like this had happened and was said among them; Why, he will ask, did the Savior preach to them to their destruction, so that their sin would be considered more serious? He should be told the following. God knows the feelings of all those who accuse His providence, as if they did not believe due to the fault of providence, because (God’s providence) did not allow them to see what he granted others to contemplate, and did not provide them with the opportunity to hear what others heard and benefited from it; Wanting to expose the unreasonableness of this justification, God gives those who criticize His management what they demanded; then, having received this, and, nevertheless, convicted of extreme wickedness, since they did not have time to derive any benefit from it for themselves, they abandon such insolence and, thereby freeing themselves, learn that sometimes God really postpones and hesitates to do good to some people, but at the same time He does not allow them to see and hear precisely what, having heard and seen, people aggravate and increase their sin, if even after that they do not believe. 18. Let us also consider the words: “pardon does not depend on the one who wishes, nor on the one who strives, but on God who has mercy” (Rom. 9.16). The detractors say: if (pardon) is not from the one who desires and not from the one who strives, but from God who has mercy, then salvation does not depend on our freedom, but on the nature (dispensation) given (by God), who made us exactly this way, or on the decision of the One who has mercy when he wants. You need to ask these people the following. Is it good or evil to wish for good? And to strive for the sake of the desire to achieve a goal in the pursuit of good, is it worthy of praise or blame? If they say that it is worthy of reproach, they will answer contrary to the clear truth, since the saints desire and strive, but, of course, do not do (anything) worthy of reproach. If they say that the desire for good and the desire for good is good, then we ask, how does perishing nature desire the best? After all, this is the same as if a bad tree bears good fruit, if only wishing for the best is good. But they will give a third answer, namely, that the desire for good and the desire for good belongs to average things, that this desire and desire is neither good nor bad. To this it must be said that if the desire for good and the desire for good is an average thing, then the opposite of this is also indifferent, i.e. desire for evil and desire for evil. But to desire evil and to strive for evil is not a completely different matter; therefore, the desire for good and the desire for good are also not indifferent. So, this is how I think we can defend the words: “not from him who wills, and not from him who runs, but from God who has mercy.” Solomon speaks in the Book of Psalms, because he owns the song of ascensions, from which we quote the words: “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain; if the Lord does not guard the city, the watchman watches in vain” (Ps. 127.1). With these words, Solomon does not turn us away from building houses and does not teach us not to stay awake to preserve our spiritual house, but only shows that what is built without God and does not receive protection from him is built in vain and is guarded in vain, since it is right to consider God as the master of house-building and the ruler of the city - the Lord of all. If we say, for example, that such and such a building is the work not of the builder, but of God, and that protecting such and such a city from any harm from enemies is not the work of a guardian, but of God, who controls everything, then we will not be mistaken: we agree that man has done something, but we attribute the main work with gratitude to the performer - God. In the same way, human desire is not enough to achieve the goal, just as the feat of struggle is not enough to receive the reward of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, for this is accomplished with the help of God; and therefore it is beautifully said that “not from him who wills, nor from him who runs, but from God who has mercy.” In a similar way, one can say about agriculture in the words of Scripture: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase; Therefore, both he who plants and he who waters are nothing, but God who increases everything” (1 Cor. 3.6–7). After all, it would be ungodly to say that the abundance of fruits is the work of the farmer or the work of the one who watered: it is the work of God. Likewise, our improvement does not occur without our activity and is not achieved by us (alone), but most of it is accomplished by God. To make this clearer, let us take the art of ship management as an example. In addition to the blowing of the wind, the goodness of the air and the light of the stars, what great importance, they say, for reaching the harbor, is the art of steering a ship! Meanwhile, the helmsmen themselves often do not dare admit that the ship was saved thanks to their foresight, but they attribute everything to God, not because (themselves) they allegedly did nothing, but because what depends on fishing is incomparably greater than what depends on art. And in our salvation, what depends on God is incomparably greater than what is in our power. Therefore, I think, it is said that “not from him who wills, nor from him who runs, but from God who has mercy.” If the words “not from him who wills, nor from him who strives, but from God who has mercy” are understood as the heretics understand them, then the commandments are unnecessary, then in vain Paul himself blames some for the fall, while he approves of others for correction and gives laws to the churches, in vain we surrender ourselves to the desire for good, in vain (indulge ourselves) in exploits. But Paul does not give this advice in vain and condemns some and approves of others, and we do not in vain wish for good and strive for the highest virtue. Consequently, they misunderstood the meaning of this passage. 19. This was followed by the words: “both will and deed” - from God (Phil. 2.13). Some say: if the will is from God and the action is from God, then even if we wished evil and acted badly, this is done to us from God; if this is so, then we are not free. And again, when we desire the best and do good, it is not we who do good deeds, because desire and action are from God; we only apparently (do it), but in reality it is God who gives it; therefore, in this respect we are not free. But the following must be said to this. The apostle’s saying does not say that the desire for evil is from God or the desire for good is from God, as well as the doing of good and evil, but (says that it is from God) desire in general and feat in general. Just as we have from God that we are living beings and that we are people, so, one might say, from God we have both desire in general and movement in general. But although being living beings, moving, for example, acting with various members, i.e. with our hands or feet, although we received all this from God, it would be wrong to say that from God we also received some kind of private movement, directed, for example, to beatings, or to murder, or to kidnapping someone else’s property. We received the general (generic) ability of movement from God, but we already (ourselves) use this ability of movement either for evil or for good. Thus, we received the ability of activity by which we are living beings from God, and the ability of desire we received from the Creator; but we ourselves already use this ability of desire, as well as the ability of activity, either for good or in the opposite direction. 20. Apparently, the apostolic saying also speaks against the freedom of our will, in which the apostle, contradicting himself, expresses himself as follows: “So, he has mercy on whom he wants, and he hardens whom he wants. You tell me: what else are you accusing me of? Or who will resist His will? And who are you, man, that you argue with God? Will the product say to the one who made it: why did you make me like this? Does not the potter have power over the clay, so that from the same mixture he can make one vessel for honorable use, and another for low” (Rom. 9.18-21). Someone will say: if God (creates) some for salvation and others for destruction, just as a potter from the same mixture makes some vessels for honorable use and others for low use, then salvation or destruction is not in our power and we are not free. But against those who use these words in this way, the following must be said. Can he really think of the apostle that he contradicts himself? I don't think anyone would dare say that. If the apostle does not say anything contrary to himself, then how, in accordance with such an understanding (of the above saying), can he rightly condemn and accuse the Corinthian fornicator or people who fell, but did not repent of the intemperance and impurity they committed? How does he bless those whom he praises for good deeds, as, for example, (blessing) the house of Onesiphorus, saying: “May the Lord give mercy to the house of Onesiphorus because it gave me rest many times and was not ashamed of my bonds, but, being in Rome, sought me with great diligence and found me. May the Lord grant that we may find favor with the Lord on that day” (2 Tim. 1.16–18). It is not typical for one and the same apostle to condemn a sinner as worthy of reproach, and to approve of one who has done a good deed as worthy of praise, and at the same time to say that the purpose of one vessel for honorable use, and another for base use, depends on the Creator, as if nothing were in our power. And what is the rational meaning in the words: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what he has done while living in the body, whether good or bad” (2 Cor. 5.10)? What is the meaning of these words if those who committed evil reached this state because they were created as vessels of dishonor, and those who lived virtuously did good because they were originally prepared for this and were created as vessels of honor? Also: isn’t this opinion, formed by them on the basis of the words we cited, that a vessel is honorable and dishonorable through the fault of the Creator, not contradicted by what was said elsewhere: “And in a large house there are vessels not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; and some in honorable, and others in low, use. Therefore, whoever is clean from this will be a vessel of honor, sanctified and useful to the Master, fit for every good work” (2 Tim. 2.20-21). After all, if the one who has cleansed himself becomes an honorable vessel, and the one who has not cleansed himself through negligence becomes a low vessel, as far as can be understood from these words, then the Creator is not at all to blame (for this). The Creator makes (some) vessels of honor, (others) vessels of low, not from the beginning, according to foreknowledge, because according to foreknowledge He neither condemns nor justifies (anyone) in advance, but He makes those who have purified themselves vessels of honor, and vessels of dishonor those who have not cleansed themselves through negligence, so that one vessel is made honorable, and another low, on the basis of reasons that precede the preparation of the vessels for honorable or for low use. If we once admit that the designation of a vessel for honor or dishonor is based on antecedent reasons, then, of course, it will not be at all absurd, returning to the discussion of the soul, to say that Jacob was loved before receiving the body, and Esau was hated before the formation of Rebecca in the womb - on the basis of (some) antecedent reasons. 21. At the same time, the following also becomes clear. Just as a potter deals with clay of one nature, from a mixture of which vessels are made for honorable and for low use, in the same way God deals with souls of one nature and, so to speak, with one mixture of rational essences, and only certain antecedent causes make some vessels of honor and others vessels of low. True, the saying of the apostle: “And who are you, O man, that you argue with God?” seems too harsh; but the apostle teaches that a person who has a sincere relationship with God, is faithful and leads a good life, cannot hear the words: “Who are you, man, that you argue with God?” Such was Moses: for “Moses spoke, and God answered him with a voice” (Ex. 19.19). But just as God answers Moses, so does the saint answer God. And if someone does not have such closeness to God, either because he has lost it, or because he explores it not for the sake of curiosity, but out of strife, and therefore says: “Why else does he accuse? Or who will resist His will? , then such a person will be worthy of reproach: “Who are you, man, that you argue with God?” To those who, on the basis of this saying, introduce different natures, the following must be said. If they remember that those who are perishing and those who are being saved come from the same mixture and the Creator of those who are being saved is also the Creator of those who are perishing, and if the One who creates not only spiritual, but also earthly blessings (because this follows from the statements made), then, of course, it is possible that who has now become an honorable vessel for some previous good deeds in another century will become a lowly vessel, if he does not perform similar deeds befitting an honorable vessel; on the other hand, whoever here, for reasons preceding this life, became a low vessel, having corrected himself, in the new creation can be an honorable vessel, sanctified and useful to the Master, ready for every good deed. And, perhaps, the current Israelis, for living unworthy of (their) noble origin, will be excluded from this family, as if changing from honorable vessels to low vessels; many of the current Egyptians and Edomites, approaching Israel, will bear abundant fruit, enter the church of the Lord and will no longer be considered Egyptians and Edomites, but will be Israelis. Thus, according to this teaching, some, in accordance with the direction of (their) will, from evil become good, others from good become evil, some remain in good, or from good ascend to the better, while others remain in evil or, with increasing depravity, from bad become even worse. 22. But the apostle in one place does not attribute to God that a vessel is made honorable or low, but refers everything to us, saying: “Whoever cleanses himself will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful to the Master, fit for every good work” (2 Tim. 2.21), in another place he does not attribute this to us, but, apparently, refers everything to God, saying: “Has not the potter power? over clay, to make from the same mixture one vessel for honorable use, and another for low” (Rom. 9.21). And since there is no contradiction in his words, it is necessary to combine both sayings and derive one perfect thought from both. Neither our freedom without the knowledge of God, nor the knowledge of God, without any contribution to good on our part, forces us to improve, because neither freedom without the knowledge of God and without the worthy use of this freedom makes anyone a vessel of honor or low, nor does the will of God appoint anyone to honor or dishonor, if for (such) distinction there is no basis in our will, inclined towards evil or to good. These proofs concerning free will are sufficient for us. Compare Justinian: “So that everything that exists, except the Father and God, was created, we are convinced of this from the same conclusion.” Also from Jerome in his letter to Avitus: “According to him, he does not know whether the Spirit is created or uncreated. But below he discovers what he thinks about the Holy Spirit when it is affirmed that there is nothing uncreated except God the Father.” Jerome in his “Letter to Avitus” writes: “According to Origen, the devil is not incapable of virtue, only he does not want to accept it. In the Apology of Pamphilus (chapter 9), the end of book 1 reads like this: “as for us, these are not dogmas; “It was said for the sake of argument, and we reject it: this was said only so that it would not seem to anyone that the issue raised was not subject to discussion.” Jerome, in a letter to Avitus, notes: “At the end of the first book, he (Origen) discussed at great length that an angel or soul or demon - which, in his opinion, have the same nature, but a different will - for great negligence and unreasonableness can become cattle and, instead of enduring the torment of a fiery flame, may rather wish to become irrational animals, live in the waters and seas and take the body of one or another cattle, therefore, we must be wary of the bodies of not only four-legged animals, but also fish. And, finally, in order not to be accused of the teachings of Pythagoras, who proves metem_psúxw_s, - after such a vile reasoning, which wounded the soul of the reader, - he says: these, in our opinion, are not dogmas, but only research and conjectures, and (examined by us) for the purpose, so that it would not seem to anyone that all this is completely unaffected by us. Jerome in a letter to Avitus: “In the second book (Origen) claims that there are countless worlds, that these very many worlds, contrary to Epicurus, do not exist simultaneously and are not similar to each other, but after the end of one world, another begins; that before this world of ours there was another world, and after it there will be another, and after that another, and so on, one after another. He doubts whether one world will be so similar to the other in everything that, apparently, they will not differ from each other in anything, or whether one world will never be completely like the other to the point of complete indifference.” I think it is also necessary to investigate whether, after this world, for those who did not want to obey the word of God, there will be some kind of healing and correction, of course, very severe and full of suffering - healing through teaching and reasonable instruction, with the help of which they will have the opportunity: to rise to a more fruitful comprehension of the truth, following the example of those who in this present life devoted themselves to exploits and, having achieved the purification of (their) minds, are already here received the ability to comprehend divine wisdom. And after this, will there not be a general demise again, and for the correction and improvement of those who need them, will not a new world appear again, either similar to the present one, or even better, or, on the contrary, much worse? And whatever this next world may be, how long will it last? And will there ever come a time when there will be no peace at all? Or perhaps there was a time when there was no peace at all? Or – there were and there will be many more worlds? And does it happen that one world turns out to be in every way similar to another to the point of indifference?” Wed. letter of Jerome to Avitus: “The fires of Gehenna and the torment with which Scripture threatens sinners, Origen believes not in punishments, but in the conscience of sinners. By the power of the power of God, a complete recollection of sins appears before our eyes, and, as if from some seeds sown in the soul, a whole harvest of vices arises, and before our eyes is drawn a complete picture of everything that we have done in life that is shameful or wicked, and the mind, contemplating former lusts, is executed by the burning of conscience and pierced by the arrows of repentance.” “In our opinion, a vessel, made honorable for previous merits, in another century will be a low vessel if it performs a deed not worthy of its title; and, on the contrary, the vessel, which for previous guilt received the name of reproach, in the new creation will become a sanctified vessel, useful to the Lord and ready for any work, if only in this life it wishes to correct itself.” (From a letter from Jerome to Avit) “And since we have compared the souls passing from this world to the underworld with those souls who, as it were, die, passing from the highest heaven to our abodes, we must carefully examine whether we cannot say the same about the birth of each individual soul, namely: how the souls born on this earth of ours either, thanks to correction, emerge from the underworld to higher (places) and take on a human body, or descend to us from better places; in the same way, perhaps, the highest places in the firmament are occupied by different souls, and some souls rose to these best places from our dwellings, while others fell to the firmament from the dwellings of heaven, although they did not sin so much as to be cast down to the places where we live” (From Jerome’s letter to Avitus). The work was preserved in lat. lane Rufinus, who deliberately made changes to the text in order to protect the teachings of Origen from condemnation.